Fast Microscale Actuators for Probe Microscopy

ABSTRACT

A system for measuring a property of a sample includes an actuation device disposed on a substrate and includes a flexible surface spaced apart from the substrate and configured so as to allow placement of the sample thereupon. The actuation device also includes a vertical actuator that is configured to cause the flexible surface to achieve a predetermined displacement from the substrate when a corresponding potential is applied thereto. A sensing probe is disposed so as to be configured to interact with the sample thereby sensing the property of the sample.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/830,445, filed Jul. 13, 2006, the entirety ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This application isalso a continuation-in-part of, and claims the benefit of, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/260,238, filed Oct. 28, 2005, which is anon-provisional application claiming priority on U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/691,972 filed on Jun. 17, 2005, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/707,219 filed on Aug. 11,2005, the entirety of each of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST

This invention was made with support from the U.S. government undergrant number ECS 0348582, awarded by National Science Foundation andgrant number 1 R01 A1060799-01A2, awarder by the National Institutes ofHealth. The government may have certain rights in the invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to probe sensing and, more specifically,to a system for controlling spacing in a probe sensor system with a highlevel of precision.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Conventional atomic force microscope (AFM) and its variations have beenused to probe a wide range of physical and biological processes,including mechanical properties of single molecules, electric andmagnetic fields of single atoms and electrons. Moreover, cantileverbased structures inspired by the AFM have been a significant driver fornanotechnology resulting in chemical sensor arrays, various forms oflithography tools with high resolution, and terabit level data storagesystems. Despite the current rate of success, the AFM needs to beimproved in terms of speed, sensitivity, and an ability to generatequantitative data on the chemical and mechanical properties of thesample. For example, when measuring molecular dynamics at roomtemperature, the molecular forces need to be measured in a time scalethat is less than the time of the thermal fluctuations to break thebonds. This requires a high speed system with sub-nanonewton andsub-nanometer sensitivity.

Current cantilever-based structures for AFM probes and their respectiveactuation methodologies lack speed and sensitivity and have hinderedprogress in the aforementioned areas. Imaging systems based on smallcantilevers have been developed to increase the speed of AFMs, but thisapproach has not yet found wide use due to demanding constraints onoptical detection and bulky actuators. Several methods have beendeveloped for quantitative elasticity measurements, but the trade-offbetween force resolution, measurement speed, and cantilever stiffnesshas been problematic especially for samples with high compliance andhigh adhesion. Cantilever deflection signals measured during tappingmode imaging have been inverted to obtain elasticity information withsmaller impact forces, but complicated dynamic response of thecantilever increases the noise level and prevents calculation of theinteraction forces. Arrays of AFM cantilevers with integratedpiezoelectric actuators have been developed for parallel lithography,but low cantilever speed and complex fabrication methods have limitedtheir use.

Most of the scanning probe microscopy techniques, including tapping modeimaging and force spectroscopy, rely on measurement of the deflection ofa micro-cantilever with a sharp tip. Therefore, the resulting force datadepend on the dynamic properties of the cantilever, which shapes thefrequency response. This can be quite limiting, as mechanical structureslike cantilevers are resonant vibrating structures and they provideinformation mostly only around these resonances. For example, in tappingmode imaging it is nearly impossible to recover all the informationabout the tip-sample interaction force, since the transient forceapplied at each tap cannot be observed as a clean time signal.

Moreover, conventional methods of imaging with scanning probes can betime consuming while others are often destructive because they requirestatic tip-sample contact. Dynamic operation of AFM, such as thetapping-mode, eliminates shear forces during the scan. However, the onlyfree variable in this mode, the phase, is related to the energydissipation and it is difficult to interpret. Further, the inverseproblem of gathering the time-domain interaction forces from the tappingsignal is not easily solvable due to complex dynamics of the AFMcantilever. Harmonic imaging is useful to analyze the sample elasticproperties, but this method recovers only a small part of the tip-sampleinteraction force frequency spectrum.

Applications of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in life sciences have beenincreasing in both variety and significance. In addition to highresolution imaging of cells, DNA and other biological structures, AFMenables single-molecule mechanics studies characterizing bothintra-molecular and intermolecular forces. Studying biological samplesin aqueous environments, which can be corrosive and electricallyconducting, imposes challenging electrical isolation requirements. Thisis especially important for AFM cantilevers or cantilever arrays withintegrated piezoelectric detectors or piezoelectric actuators. Tocollect statistically significant data even on a single type ofmolecule, measurements need to be repeated many times, which requiresdurable sensors. To implement single-molecule experiments to proteinchips for applications such as drug discovery and screening, thethroughput needs to be significantly improved. This can be achieved bydevelopment of systems that can perform parallel single-moleculemeasurements on many different molecular pairs. Some parallel techniqueshave been demonstrated for bond rupture frequency measurements where amolecule of known mechanical properties is used as a force gauge.However, many other single-molecule experiments, such as those thatmeasure bond lifetime at a clamped force, require applying controlledforces on molecules and measuring these forces with pico-Newtonresolution. Therefore, both parallel actuation and parallel forcesensing are required for parallel single-molecule mechanics experiments.AFM cantilever arrays with integrated piezoelectric actuators and eitheroptical or piezo-resistive sensing have demonstrated this capability.These devices, which are used mainly for fast imaging so far, requirecomplex fabrication processes and may be difficult to isolateelectrically for operation in liquid environments.

Recently, membrane-based probe structures with electrostatic actuationand integrated diffraction-based optical interferometric displacementdetection have been introduced for SPM applications. Initialimplementation of these force sensing integrated readout and active tip(FIRAT) devices used aluminum membranes over an unsealed air cavity andhence was not suitable for operation in immersion. A version of thesesurface micromachined structures suitable for operation in biologicallyrelevant, electrically conductive buffer solutions has already beenrealized for medical ultrasonic imaging applications. These capacitivemicromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) use a dielectric materialsuch as silicon nitride as the structural membrane, and a metalactuation electrode buried in the dielectric membrane which iselectrically isolated from the immersion medium. The cavity between themembrane and the bottom electrode is sealed under low pressure toprevent liquid leakage.

Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the priorart associated with probe microscopy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present inventionwhich, in one aspect, is an apparatus for measuring a property of asample. An actuation device is disposed on a substrate and includes aflexible surface spaced apart from the substrate and configured so as toallow placement of the sample thereupon. The actuation device alsoincludes a vertical actuator that is configured to cause the flexiblesurface to achieve a predetermined displacement from the substrate whena corresponding potential is applied thereto. A sensing probe isdisposed so as to be configured to interact with the sample therebysensing the property of the sample.

In another aspect, the invention is a sensing structure for sensing aproperty of a sample. A force sensing detector detects a state of aforce sensor. An actuation device upon which the sample may be placedhas a flexible surface and is spaced apart from a substrate. Anactuation device driver controls a displacement of the flexible surfacefrom the substrate by applying a potential to the actuation device. Anactuation device displacement sensor detects the displacement of theflexible surface from the substrate. A control circuit is responsive tothe force sensing detector and the actuation device displacement sensor.The control circuit directs control information to the actuation devicedriver so as to cause the displacement of the flexible surface to be apredetermined displacement.

In another aspect, the invention is a parallel force spectroscopyapparatus that includes an array of sensing probes that are each capableof sensing a property of a sample. An array of actuation devices eachincludes a flexible surface that is spaced apart from a substrate. Thearray of actuation devices is disposed so that each of the actuationdevices is configured to interact with exactly one of the sensingprobes. A control circuit is configured to apply a potential to each ofthe actuation devices so as to control displacement of the flexiblesurface from the substrate.

In yet another aspect, the invention is a method of detecting a propertyof a sample, in which the sample is placed on an actuator that includesa flexible actuation surface that is spaced apart from a substrate. Asensing probe is placed in a position so as to be configured to interactwith the sample. The flexible actuation surface is moved relative to thesubstrate so that the sample interacts with the sensing probe.Interaction between the sensing probe and the sample is sensed so as todetect the property of the sample.

These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunctionwith the following drawings. As would be obvious to one skilled in theart, many variations and modifications of the invention may be effectedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of thedisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWINGS

The following is a brief description of the Figures of the Drawings.Unless otherwise stated, the drawings are not necessarily drawn toscale.

FIG. 1A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary forcesensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 1B shows a scanning electron microscope (SEM) picture of anexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 1C shows a photograph of a top down view of a force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 1D shows a photograph of a bottom up view of a force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 1E shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 2B shows a scanning ion beam image of another exemplary forcesensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 2C shows photograph of a bottom up view of a force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 2D shows a scanning electron microscope (SEM) picture of a forcesensor tip in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 3A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 4B shows a bottom up view perspective of another exemplary forcesensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 4C shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary forcesensor array in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 5A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 5B is a graph plotting cantilever motion versus time for anexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 5C is a graph plotting flexible mechanical structuregrating-distance versus time for an exemplary force sensor in accordancewith the present teachings.

FIG. 6 shows a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of anotherexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 7 shows a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of anotherexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 8A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an arrangement usedto monitor sensitivity of an exemplary force sensor in accordance withthe present teachings.

FIG. 8B shows a graph plotting voltage output versus time for a tappingcantilever for a force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 8C shows a close up of a portion of the graph shown in FIG. 8B.

FIG. 9A shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 9B shows a graph of interaction force versus time for an exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 9C-9F show graphs of a flexible mechanical structure displacementversus time for an exemplary force sensor in accordance with the presentteachings.

FIG. 9G-9H show graphs of photo-detector output versus time for anexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 10A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 10B shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 10C shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 10D shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 11A shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 11B shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 11C shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 13A shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary force sensor inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 13B shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 14 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary AFM system inaccordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 15A-15C show graphs of interaction intensity versus time for anexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 16A shows a graph of interaction intensity versus time for anexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 16B shows a PAF image and a topography image of a sample using anexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 16C shows a PRF image and a topography image of a sample using anexemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 17A shows a topographical image of a sample using an exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 17B shows line scans of the sample shown in FIG. 17A measured atdifferent speeds.

FIG. 17C shows topographical image of sample in FIG. 17A made using aconventional AFM system.

FIG. 17D shows line scans of the sample shown in FIG. 17C measured atdifferent speeds using a conventional AFM system.

FIG. 18 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 19 shows a graph plotting normalized intensity versus gap thicknessusing a force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 20A shows a graph plotting photo-detector output versus biasvoltage for a force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 20B shows a graph plotting photo-detector output versus time for aforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 21 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 222 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 23A shows a graph plotting normalized intensity versus gapthickness using a force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 23B shows a graph plotting sensitivity versus metal thickness usinga force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 24A shows a graph plotting detector output bias voltage using aforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 24B shows a graph plotting detector output bias voltage using aforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 25 shows a graph plotting normalized intensity versus gap thicknessusing a force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 26 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 27 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 28A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 28B shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a portion of theforce sensor shown in FIG. 28A in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 29A is a schematic drawing of a flexible-surface electrostaticactuator operating with a sensing probe and an optical gratingdisplacement sensor.

FIG. 29B is a schematic drawing of a flexible-surface electrostaticactuator operating with a sensing probe and a Fabry-Perot displacementsensor.

FIG. 29C is a schematic drawing of a flexible-surface electrostaticactuator operating with a sensing probe and a capacitive displacementsensor.

FIG. 30 is a schematic drawing of a feedback actuation and sensingsystem.

FIG. 31A is a schematic drawing of an array of flexible-surfaceactuators and lateral actuators.

FIG. 31B is a micrograph of an array of flexible-surface electrostaticactuators.

FIG. 31C is a schematic drawing of a cross section of the array shown inFIG. 31A.

FIG. 32A is a schematic drawing of a sensing system employing apiezoelectricly-actuated probe sensor and an optical interferometerfeedback system.

FIG. 32B is a schematic drawing of a sensing system employing apiezoelectricly-actuated probe sensor and a grating-based interferometerfeedback system.

FIG. 32C is a schematic drawing of a sensing system in which a probesensor is mounted on a flexible actuation structure.

FIG. 33 is a schematic drawing of an experimental set-up for thecharacterization of membrane-based probes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the invention is now described in detail.Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like parts throughoutthe views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims,the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein,unless the context clearly dictates otherwise: the meaning of “a,” “an,”and “the” includes plural reference, the meaning of “in” includes “in”and “on.”

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part thereof, and in which is shown by way ofillustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention maybe practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and it is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Thefollowing description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense.

Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forththe broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numericalvalues set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely aspossible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certainerrors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in theirrespective testing measurements. Moreover, all ranges disclosed hereinare to be understood to encompass any and all sub-ranges subsumedtherein. For example, a range of “less than 10” can include any and allsub-ranges between (and including) the minimum value of zero and themaximum value of 10, that is, any and all sub-ranges having a minimumvalue of equal to or greater than zero and a maximum value of equal toor less than 10, I., 1 to 5.

One representative embodiment of the invention includes FIRAT structuresfor parallel single molecular force spectroscopy and SPM applicationsand a fabrication procedure of sealed membrane probe arrays on quartzsubstrates using a low temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapordeposition (PECVD) dielectric film and a polymer sacrificial layer.Biomolecular bond unbinding force measurements are performed by pullingthe molecules using individually actuated membranes, thereby eliminatingthe need for the piezoelectric actuator. Therefore, we have demonstratedthe feasibility for using these devices in parallel single-moleculemechanics experiments.

According to various embodiments there is a force sensor for use in, forexample, probe based instruments, such as probe microscopy and structuremanipulation. The force sensor can comprise a detection surface, aflexible mechanical structure, and a gap between the detection surfaceand the flexible mechanical structure. The force sensors can alsocomprise a tip in contact with the flexible mechanical structure.

Force sensors described herein can eliminate the corruption of utility,such as measurement information, that can arise from a cantilever. Theseforce sensors can also be used as actuators to apply known forces,providing clean and valuable elasticity information data on surfaces,biomolecules, and other materials. Moreover, these force sensors can beintegrated on cantilevers and can be compatible with existing AFMsystems while providing accurate tip displacement and also act as“active tips.”

According to various embodiments, a displacement measurement can be madeusing a flexible mechanical structure, such as a membrane, a diaphragm,a cantilever, a clamped-clamped beam, a flexible structure comprisingmultiple flexible elements partially or totally fixed at one end on asubstantially rigid surface and connected at a point so as to form asymmetry axis. These flexible mechanical structures can bemicro-machined. These flexible mechanical structures can have uniform ornon-uniform cross sections to achieve desired static and dynamicdeflection characteristics. For example, the vibration modes that aresymmetric and anti-symmetric with respect to the symmetry axis can beused to detect forces in different directions. These flexible mechanicalstructures can be made of metals such as gold, aluminum, or asemiconductor such as single crystal silicon or polycrystalline silicon,or dielectric materials such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or apolymer such as SU-8, or they can be a composite structure of metallic,semiconducting, polymer, or dielectric materials. While not intending tobe so limited, measurements can be made to detect, for example:localized forces, such as, a force experienced by a tip contacting theflexible mechanical structure; surface topography using for example, aflexible mechanical structure with an integrated tip contacting asurface; a flexible mechanical structure with an integrated tip in closeproximity of a surface or substance; and forces between a reactivesubstance, such as a molecule, bound to the flexible mechanicalstructure and another reactive substance, such as a molecule, bound on aclose by structure such as a tip.

According to various embodiments, the detection surface can be a surfaceof a rigid substrate, or a part of a rigid substrate, with an opticallyreflective diffraction grating, a part of a rigid substrate with areflective and/or electrically conductive diffraction grating foroptical interferometric detection and electrostatic actuation, a part ofa rigid substrate with electrically conductive members for electrostaticactuation and capacitive detection, a surface of a rigid substrate witha semi-transparent layer for optical interferometry. In some cases thedetection surface can be a surface of a deformable mechanical structuresuch as a membrane, clamped-clamped beam or a cantilever. The rigidityof the mechanical structure with the detection surface can besubstantially higher than the flexible mechanical structure of the forcesensor. The detection surface can contain conductive and dielectricportions to have electrical isolation between actuation and detectionelectrodes. In some cases, the deformable detection surface can beactuated and therefore it can contain a separate electrode orpiezoelectric film for actuation purposes. Still further, in some casesthe detection surface can form a substrate.

According to various embodiments, displacement can be measured usinginterferometric techniques or capacitive techniques. For example, agrating, such as that used in a diffraction based opticalinterferometric method or any other optical interferometric method suchas, for example, Fabry-Perot structures, an example of which isdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/704,932, filed Nov. 10,2003, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, can beused. Capacitive measurements can use techniques used to monitorcapacitance, such as that used in capacitive microphones.

The flexible mechanical structure dimensions and materials can beadjusted to have desired compliance and measurement capabilities to makestatic and dynamic measurements with sufficient bandwidth. The overallshape of the flexible mechanical structure can be circular, square, orany other suitable shape. Typical lateral dimensions can be from 10 μmto 2 mm, flexible mechanical structure thickness can be from 10 nm to 3μm, and the gap can be from 1 nm to 10 μm. In some embodiments the gapcan be as large as 1 mm. The flexible mechanical structure material cancomprise, for example, aluminum, gold, silicon nitride, silicon, siliconoxide, or polysilicon or can be a composite structure of metallic,semiconducting, and dielectric materials. The gap can be sealed orpartially sealed for applications in liquids, or it can be open forvacuum and atmospheric measurements.

For some force measurements, a soft cantilever may not be required.Using the output from the force sensors in a feedback loop, one can usean external actuator to individually adjust the tip-flexible mechanicalstructure, tip-sample distances. According to various embodiments, theflexible mechanical structure can be electrostatically actuated to applydesired forces. According to various embodiments, force sensorsdescribed herein can be attached to a cantilever to form a force sensorstructure. Further, the force sensor structure can be combined with adetector to form a force sensor unit that can be used in a probe basedinstrument.

FIG. 1A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary forcesensor 100 in accordance with the present teachings. The force sensor100 comprises a detection surface 102 and a flexible mechanicalstructure 104. The flexible mechanical structure 104 can be disposeddistance (D) above the detection surface so as to form a gap 105 betweenthe flexible mechanical structure 104 and the detection surface 102. Theflexible mechanical structure can be configured to move to a newposition 104′ upon exposure to an external stimuli 114, such as a force.Moreover, the force sensor 100 can include elements configured to detectchanges in the distance (D). Still further, the force sensor 100 can beactuated to affect the distance (D) using, for example, bottom electrode106, such as a grating, and a top electrode 116, both of which aredescribed in more detail below.

The detection surface 102 can be made of a material transparent topredetermined wavelengths of light. For example, the detection surfacecan be made from silicon oxide, such as quartz. The overall shape of theflexible mechanical structure 104 can be circular, square, or any othersuitable shape. Typical diameters of flexible mechanical structure 104can range from 5 μm to 2 mm and the thickness of flexible mechanicalstructure 104 can be from 10 nm to 10 μm. The flexible mechanicalstructure can be a micro-machined material that can comprise, forexample, aluminum, gold, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or polysilicon.

According to various embodiments, the distance (D) of gap 105 can befrom 50 nm to 50 μm. Moreover, the gap 105 can be sealed forapplications in liquids, or it can be open for vacuum and atmosphericmeasurements. In some embodiments, the gap can be formed by the flexiblemechanical structure can be supported over the detection surface by atleast one sidewall. Movement of the flexible mechanical structure, ordisplacement measurements, can be made, for example using a grating asdescribed below, that uses a diffraction based optical interferometricmethod or any other optical interferometric method or a capacitivemethod, such as in that used in capacitive microphones can be used fordetection. According to various embodiments, grating periods of thegrating 106 can range from about 0.5 μm to about 20 μm. The incidentlight can be from the UV (with wavelengths starting at about 0.2 μm) toIR (with wavelengths starting at about 1.5 μm).

FIGS. 1B-1D show various perspective views of exemplary force sensors.For example, FIG. 1B shows a view using a scanning electron microscope(SEM) of the sensor 100. FIG. 1B is a top down photographic view of theforce sensor 100 and shows flexible mechanical structure 104. FIG. 1D isa photographic view of the force sensor 100 as seen by passing lightthrough the transparent detection surface 102 and shows grating 106positioned under the flexible mechanical structure 104.

According to various embodiments, the force sensor 100 can also includea grating 106, as shown in FIG. 1E. In FIG. 1E, a beam of light 110 canbe directed through the detection surface 102 to impinge on the flexiblemechanical structure 104 and the grating 106. According to variousembodiments, the beam of light can be directed at the detection surface102 at an angle, such as, in the range of, for example +10o away fromnormal to the detection surface 102. A portion of the flexiblemechanical structure 104 can be reflective such that light 110 can bereflected from the flexible mechanical structure 104 and another portioncan be reflected by the grating 106. As a result, different diffractionorders with different intensity levels can be generated as the lightpasses through the grating 106 depending on the gap thickness.

For example, FIG. 1A shows first diffraction order light 112 reflectedfrom the grating 106 and the flexible mechanical structure 104. Thediffracted light 112 can be detected by a detector 108. It is to beunderstood that alternatively, the detectors can be used to detectchanges in capacitance due to changes in the gap 105.

As shown in FIG. 1E, a stimuli 114, such as a force, can be applied tothe flexible mechanical structure 104. The stimuli 114 causes theflexible mechanical structure 104 to bend, or flex, shown as 104′.According to various embodiments, the flexible mechanical structure 104can bend in various directions, such as toward the detection surface 102or away from the detection surface 102. Bending the flexible mechanicalstructure 104 causes the thickness (D) of the gap 105 shown in FIG. 1Ato change.

When using a beam of light, the light 110 is reflected in a differentdirection when the flexible mechanical structure is in the bent position104′ than when the flexible mechanical structure is in the rest position104. Further, light 110 reflected from the bent flexible mechanicalstructure 104′ interacts differently with the grating 106 to producechanges in the intensity of different diffraction orders, shown in FIG.1E as 112 a-112 c. The detectors 108 can then detect the intensity ofthe diffracted light output from the grating 106. This provides arobust, micro-scale interferometer structure. Generally, informationobtained from the detectors 108 can be used to determine the stimuli114, such as the amount of force, applied to the flexible mechanicalstructure 104. This determination can be done using a computer processor(not shown) or other various techniques as will be known to one ofordinary skill in the art. Also shown in FIG. 1E is a top electrode 116that can cooperate with, for example grating 106, to serve as anactuator, as will be described in detail below.

According to various embodiments the detector 108 can be aphoto-detector, such as a silicon photodiode operated in photovoltaic orreverse biased mode or another type of photo-detector sensitive in thewavelength range of the light source. Moreover, the light 110 can be acoherent light source such as a laser. Exemplary light sources caninclude, but are not limited to, helium neon type gas lasers,semiconductor laser diodes, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers,light emitting diodes.

FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor 200 in accordance with the present teachings. The forcesensor 200 comprises a detection surface 202, a flexible mechanicalstructure 204, a grating 206, and a tip 207. In some embodiments, theforce sensor 200 can also include a top electrode 216. Moreover, thegrating 206 can be covered with dielectric layer to prevent electricalshorting in case of flexible mechanical structure collapse.

Generally, the force sensor 200 can be used to manipulate structures,such as atoms, molecules, or micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMs) orto characterize various material properties of a sample 218. Forexample, the topography of the sample 218 can be determined by movingthe sample 218 in a lateral direction across the tip 207. It is alsocontemplated that the sample 218 can remain stationary and the tip 207can be moved relative to the sample 218. Changes in height of the sample218 are detected and cause the tip 207 to move accordingly. The force onthe tip 207 caused by, for example the tip motion, can cause theflexible mechanical structure 204 to bend, or flex as shown by 204′.Light 210 can also be directed through detection surface 202 to impingeon the flexible mechanical structure 204. The light 210 is reflectedfrom the flexible mechanical structure and diffracted by the grating206. As the tip 207 applies force to the flexible mechanical structure,the thickness of the gap 205 changes. This can cause the reflected lightto diffract differently than if the flexible mechanical structure werein its un-bent position. Thus, different diffraction orders intensitycan change depending on the gap thickness.

After passing through the grating 206 the diffracted light 212 a-c canbe detected by the detectors 208. The output from the flexiblemechanical structure 204 can be used in a feedback loop to direct anexternal actuator (not shown) to adjust the tip-flexible mechanicalstructure distance (i.e., the gap thickness), and thus the tip-sampledistance (d). The flexible mechanical structure 204 can beelectrostatically actuated to apply desired forces or to adjust thetip-flexible mechanical structure distance (i.e., the gap thickness),and thus the tip-sample distance (d) by biasing electrodes 220 a and 220b attached to the grating 206 and the top electrode 216, respectively.Although two detectors are shown in FIG. 2A, one of ordinary skill inthe art understands that one or more detectors can be used.

According to various embodiments, the force sensor 200 can form anintegrated phase-sensitive diffraction grating structure that canmeasure the flexible mechanical structure 204 and/or tip 207displacement with the sensitivity of a Michelson interferometer. Thedisplacement of the tip 207 due to stimuli acting on it can be monitoredby illuminating the diffraction grating 206 through the transparentdetection surface 202 with a coherent light source 210 and the intensityof the reflected diffraction orders 212 a-c can be recorded by thedetectors 208 at fixed locations. The resulting interference curve istypically periodic with λ/2, where λ is the optical wavelength in air.According to an exemplary embodiment, the displacement detection can bewithin the range of about λ/4 (167.5 nm for λ=670 nm) in the case of afixed grating 206. However, the detection surface 202 and the grating206 can be moved by suitable actuators to extend this imaging range.Furthermore, the grating 206 can be located not at the center but closerto the clamped edges of the flexible mechanical structure to increasethe equivalent detectable tip motion range. In the case of a microscope,the “active” tip can be moved by electrostatic forces applied to theflexible mechanical structure 204 using the diffraction grating 206 asan integrated rigid actuator electrode. In some applications, thisactuator can be used to adjust the tip 207 position for optimaldisplacement sensitivity to provide a force feedback signal to anexternal actuator moving the transparent detection surface 202.

In some embodiments, such as applications requiring high speeds, thisintegrated actuator can be used as the only actuator in the feedbackloop to move the tip 207 with a speed determined by the flexiblemechanical structure 204 dynamics both in liquids and in air.

FIG. 2B shows a focused ion beam (FIB) micrograph of a force sensor 250according to an exemplary embodiment. In the embodiment shown in FIG.2B, the flexible mechanical structure 254 is 0.9 μm thick and is madefrom aluminum. Moreover, the flexible mechanical structure 254 is 150 μmin diameter and it can be formed by sputter deposition on a 0.5 mm thickquartz substrate over a 1.4 μm thick photoresist sacrificial layer. FIG.2C shows the optical micrograph of the flexible mechanical structure 254from the backside as seen through the substrate 252. The grating 256 andthe electrical connections 270 can be seen as well as the darker spot atthe position of the tip 257 at the middle of the flexible mechanicalstructure 254. In FIG. 2B, the 90 nm thick aluminum grating 256 can beformed by evaporation over a 30 nm thick titanium or titanium nitrideadhesion layer and then patterned to have 4 μm grating period with 50%fill factor. A 220 nm thick oxide layer can be deposited over thegrating 256 using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. In thiscase, the subsequent flexible mechanical structure stiffness wasmeasured to be approximately 133 N/m using a calibrated AFM cantileverand the electrostatic actuation range was approximately 470 nm beforecollapse. The tip 257 was fabricated out of platinum using an FIB. Theprocess involved ion beam assisted chemical vapor deposition of platinumusing methyl platinum gas where molecules adsorb on the surface but onlydecompose where the ion beam interacts. The tip 257, with a radius ofcurvatures down to 50 nm on the aluminum flexible mechanical structures254, were fabricated with this method. An SEM micrograph of a typicaltip with 70 nm radius of curvature is shown in FIG. 2D. According tovarious embodiments, the force sensor 200 can have a compact integratedelectrostatic actuator, where the electric field between the gratingelectrode 206 and the top electrode 216 is contained within the gap 205.This structure can be replicated to form planar arrays of sensors, asdescribed in more detail below, with good electrical and mechanicalisolation. With a suitable set of flexible mechanical structure andelectrode materials, the device can be operated in a dielectric orconductive fluid. According to various embodiments, the electrostaticforces may act only on the probe flexible mechanical structure 204. Assuch, the actuation speed can be quite fast. Therefore, combined witharray operations, the force sensor can be used in probe applicationsthat call for high speeds.

FIG. 3A depicts a schematic diagram of another exemplary force sensor300 and FIG. 3B depicts a schematic diagram of multiple force sensors300 working in concert in accordance with the present teachings. Theembodiments shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B can be used as force sensors forparallel force measurements, such as in the case of biomolecularmechanics. The force sensors 300 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B can comprise adetection surface 302 and a flexible mechanical structure 304. The forcesensor 300 can also comprise a grating 306 and a tip 307 positionedabove the flexible mechanical structure 304. According to variousembodiments reactive substances, such as molecules, includingbiomolecules, labeled 318 a and 318 b in FIGS. 3A and 3B can be attachedto flexible mechanical structure 304 and tip 307, respectively. In someembodiments, the force sensors 300 can also include a top electrode 316.FIG. 3B shows the force sensors 300 in contact with a single detectionsurface 302. However, in some cases more than one force sensor 300 cancontact a separate detection surface so as to be controlled separately.

The force sensors 300 can be used to characterize various materialproperties of the reactive substance. For example, biomolecular bondingcan be determined by moving the tip 307 contacted by a reactivesubstance, including, for example, inorganic molecules and/or organicmolecules, such as biomolecules, over the force sensors 300. It is alsocontemplated that the tip 307 can remain stationary and the forcesensors 300 can be moved relative to the tip 307. The reactive substanceon the flexible mechanical structure 304 can be attracted to thereactive substance on the tip 307. A stimuli 319, such as a force,light, or temperature, on, for example, the force sensor 300 or the tip307 caused by, for example the molecular attraction, a light source, ora temperature source, can cause the flexible mechanical structure 304 tobend, or flex as shown by 304′. Light 310 can also be directed throughdetection surface 302 to impinge on the flexible mechanical structure.The light 310 is reflected from the flexible mechanical structure andthen diffracted by the grating 306. As the stimuli displaces theflexible mechanical structure, the thickness of the gap 305 changes.This can cause the reflected light to diffract differently than if theflexible mechanical structure were in its un-bent position. Thus,different diffraction order intensities can be generated as the lightpasses through the grating 306 depending on the gap thickness. Afterpassing through the grating 306 the diffracted light 312 a-c can bedetected by the detectors 308. The output from the flexible mechanicalstructure 304 can be used in a feedback loop to direct an externalactuator (not shown) to adjust the tip-flexible mechanical structuredistance (i.e., the gap thickness), and thus the tip-sample distance(d). According to various embodiments, the flexible mechanical structure304 can be electrostatically actuated to apply desired forces by biasingelectrodes 320 a and 320 b attached to the grating 306 and the topelectrode 316, respectively.

By using a variety of techniques disclosed herein, displacements from 1mm down to 1×10-6 Å/√Hz or lower can be measured. As such, forces from1N down to 1 pN can be detected with 10 kHz bandwidth with an effectivespring constant of the sensor flexible mechanical structure from about0.001N/m to about 1000N/m at its softest point. These mechanicalparameters can be achieved by micro-machined flexible mechanicalstructures, such as MEMs microphone flexible mechanical structures.Therefore, using flexible mechanical structure surfaces and tipsfunctionalized by interacting reactive substances, as shown in FIGS. 3Aand 3B, force spectroscopy measurements can be performed in parallelusing optical or electrostatic readout.

For example, in the case of rupture force measurements, the reactivesubstance, such as a molecule, is pulled and if the bond is intact, theflexible mechanical structure is also pulled out while the displacement,i.e., applied force, is measured. With the bond rupture, the flexiblemechanical structure comes back to rest position. The force sensorflexible mechanical structures can be individually actuated to applypulling forces to individual molecules and measuring their extensionsallowing for array operation.

FIGS. 4A-4C depict perspective views of exemplary embodiments inaccordance with the present teachings. FIG. 4A depicts a cross-sectionalschematic diagram and FIG. 4B depicts a view of the top of a forcesensor structure 400. The force sensor structure 400 can include acantilever 422, such as that used in AFM, and a force sensor 401positioned on the free end of the cantilever 422. The force sensor 401can comprise a detection surface 402, a flexible mechanical structure404, a gap 405, grating 406, a tip 407, and a top electrode 416.Further, the cantilever 422 can be transparent to allow for opticalreadout of the deflection of the flexible mechanical structure, whichhas an integrated tip for imaging. The cantilever 422 can be made ofmaterials similar to those of the detection surface material, describedabove. Indeed, in some embodiments, the cantilever 422 itself cancomprise the detection surface 402. Alternatively, the detection surfacecan be a substrate formed on the cantilever. In some embodiments thecantilever 422 can also include a reflector 424.

The cantilever 422 can be used to provide periodic tapping impact forcefor tapping mode imaging to apply controlled forces for contact mode ormolecular pulling experiments. Because the flexible mechanical structure404 can be stiffer than the cantilever 422 and can be damped byimmersion in a liquid, the measurement bandwidth can be much larger thanthe cantilever 422. Furthermore, optical readout of the diffractionorders can directly provide tip displacement because the diffractionorders can be generated by the grating 406 under the flexible mechanicalstructure 404.

According to various embodiments, the reflector 424 can be used to beambounce to find cantilever deflection for feedback, if needed. In somecases, the tip-force sensor output can provide the real force feedbacksignal. The cantilever 422 and the flexible mechanical structure 404dimensions can be adjusted for the measurement speed and forcerequirements.

FIG. 4C depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor 401 a in accordance with the present teachings. The forcesensor 401 a is similar to the force sensor 401 but includes a thickerbase region 403 of the detection surface 402. Also shown in FIG. 4C areelectrical connections 420 a and 420 b that contact the grating 406 andthe top electrode 416, respectively. The electrical connections can beused to provide electrostatic actuation or capacitive detection.

FIG. 5A shows an embodiment of a force sensor structure 500 according tothe present teaching for tapping mode imaging. In addition totopography, tapping mode can also provide material property imaging andmeasurement if the tip-sample interaction forces can be accuratelymeasured. The disclosed force sensor structure solves a significantproblem for this mode of operation. For example, when the cantilever isvibrated using a sinusoidal drive signal, shown in FIG. 5B, and it isbrought to a certain distance to the surface, the tip starts to contactthe surface during a short period of each cycle, as shown in FIG. 5C.While the oscillation amplitude is kept constant for topographyinformation, the contact force i.e., the tip-sample interaction forceand duration can be related to the material properties of the sample andadhesion forces. With a regular cantilever, the deflection signal can bedominated by the vibration modes of the signal, which can significantlyattenuate the information in the harmonics. According to variousembodiments, the transient force that the tip 507 or the sample 518experiences at each tap can be measured. Because the force sensorsdisclosed herein can directly measure the flexible mechanicalstructure/tip displacement directly using optical interferometry orcapacitive measurement, this transient force signal can be obtained. Bydesigning the flexible mechanical structure stiffness, broadbandresponse is possible and short transient force signals can be measured.This situation can be valid in both air and liquids, as the informationis independent of the cantilever vibration spectrum.

Using electrically isolated electrodes, the flexible mechanicalstructure can be actuated so as to have an “active tip”. Further theactuated flexible mechanical structure can optimize the opticaldetection or capacitive detection sensitivity in air or in liquidenvironments. FIG. 6 shows an application of a force sensor structure600 comprising a sensor 601 on a cantilever 622 where the tip 607 isactive, as shown by arrow 623. In FIG. 6, the active tip 607 can be usedto apply known forces to the surface of sample 618 using electrostaticactuation and optical interferometric displacement detection orcapacitive displacement detection can be achieved. The tip 607 can beactivated, for example, by applying a bias between the grating 606 andthe top electrode 616. Further, a DC force, shown by arrow 626, can beused to keep the tip 607 in constant contact with the sample.

Light 610 can be directed to the flexible mechanical structure 604 andthe orders 612 a-c of light diffracted by the grating 606 can bedetected by the detector 608. Similar to the force sensor 401 a shown inFIG. 4C, designing the dimensions of the flexible mechanical structurebase 603, or choosing the operation frequency at an anti-resonance ofthe cantilever, the flexible mechanical structure 604 can be moved, andhence the tip 607 can be pushed into the sample 618 by knownelectrostatic forces. Accordingly, displacements of the flexiblemechanical structure 604 can be measured optically or capacitively.Furthermore, in some embodiments there is no need for an active tip onthe force sensor. Moreover for optical measurements, the gap between theflexible mechanical structure and the grating can be optimized duringfabrication of the force sensor. Thus, there is no need to activelyadjust that gap during tapping mode operation as shown in FIG. 6.Similarly for capacitive detection, an electrical connection fordetection of capacitance changes can be provided. In that case, theforce sensor 601 can be connected to a detection circuit such as used ina capacitive microphone for measuring the force on the tip 607.

The thickness of the base 603 (or the substrate) supporting the flexiblemechanical structure 604 can be adjusted to control the operationfrequency to insure that the motion of the flexible mechanical structure604 produces an indentation in the sample surface. This measurement,therefore, provides surface elasticity information directly. Accordingto various embodiments, the frequency of electrostatic actuation can bein the ultrasonic range. Alternatively, a wideband impulse force can beapplied and resulting displacements can be detected in the bandwidth ofthe flexible mechanical structure displacement force sensor. For theseapplications, it may be desirable to move the higher cantilevervibration mode frequencies away from the first resonance. This can beachieved, for example, by increasing the mass close to the tip of thecantilever, such as by adjusting the thickness, or mass of the base 603.With added mass, the cantilever acts more like a single mode mass springsystem and can generate tapping signals without spurious vibrations andcan also be effective at a broad range of frequencies.

In general, for tapping mode AFM and UAFM applications a broadband,stiff tip displacement measurement sensor/structure can be integratedinto compliant structures, such as regular AFM cantilevers. Althoughflexible mechanical structures are primarily described here, accordingto another embodiment, the tip displacement measurement structure can bea stiff beam structure with the same cross-section of the flexiblemechanical structure or another stiff cantilever, as shown, for example,in FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, there is a force sensor structure 700, comprisinga force sensor 701, a compliant structure 722, a tip 707, and a flexiblemechanical structure 728 such as a stiff broadband structure. In thiscase, the stiff broadband structure 728 can be small cantilever mountedto an end of the compliant structure 722, also a cantilever. The smallcantilever 728 can be spaced a distance (d) from the compliant structure722. The compliant structure 722 can be used to control the impactand/or contact force of the tip 707 mounted to a side of the stiffbroadband structure 728. Further, the stiff broadband structure 728 canbe used to measure tip displacements. Displacement of the tip 707 can bemeasured, for example, optically, electrostatically, capacitively,piezoelectricly or piezoresistively.

According to various embodiments, for fast imaging and tapping modeapplications, the cantilever can be eliminated. In this case, a fast x-yscan of a sample or the integrated tip can be used with the describedsensor/actuator for tapping and detecting forces. The large, fast z-axismotion can be generated, for example, by a piezoelectric actuator thatmoves the base of the force sensor, which can be a thick, rigidsubstrate.

The sensitivity of a force sensor in accordance with the presentteachings can be described by the following exemplary embodiment,depicted in FIG. 8A. In FIG. 8A, a rectangular silicon AFM cantilever822 with a tip 807 is vibrated at 57 kHz above a 150 μm diameter, ˜1 μmthick aluminum flexible mechanical structure 804 with an integrateddiffraction grating 806. The force sensor 800 flexible mechanicalstructure 804 is built on a quartz detection surface or substrate 802. ADC bias of 37V is applied to move the flexible mechanical structure 804to a position of optimal detection sensitivity and the vibrating tip 807is brought close enough to have tapping mode-like operation withintermittent contact. Diffraction order 812 can be detected by detector808 when a beam 810 is diffracted by grating 806 upon exiting forcesensor 800.

The single shot signals collected at this position are shown at the toptwo rows (Row 1 and Row 2) of the four rows of the graph in FIG. 8B. Thebottom graph, in FIG. 8C, shows a zoomed in version of Row 2 ofindividual taps, where the transient displacement of the flexiblemechanical structure due to impact of the tip is clearly seen. If theflexible mechanical structure material were softer or there were acompliant coating on the flexible mechanical structure 804, the measuredtap signals would be longer in duration and smaller in amplitude becausethe tip 807 would spend more time indenting the softer surface whiletransmitting less force to the flexible mechanical structure 804.Therefore, the tapping force measurement provides elasticity informationand this embodiment can be used as a material property sensor for a thinfilm coating on the flexible mechanical structure.

In addition, when the tip 807 leaves contact, the flexible mechanicalstructure 804 is pulled away due to adhesion or capillary forces,permitting force spectroscopy measurement methods. When the tip 807 ismoved progressively closer, it is in contact with the flexiblemechanical structure 804 for a longer duration of each cycle and finallyit pushes the flexible mechanical structure 804 down during the wholecycle. Thus, the simple force sensing structures disclosed hereinprovide information not available by conventional AFM methods and resultin more effective tools for force spectroscopy applications.

The sensitivity of another force sensor in accordance with the presentteaching can be described by the following exemplary embodiment,depicted in FIGS. 9A-9H. As shown in FIG. 9A, a quartz substrate 902with a sensor flexible mechanical structure 904 is placed on apiezoelectric stack transducer 927, which can be used to approach to thetip 907 and obtain force distance curves. The flexible mechanicalstructure 904 is aluminum and can be 150 μm in diameter, 1 μm thick, andlocated over a 2 μm gap 905 above the rigid diffraction gratingelectrode 906. In this case, the grating period is 4 μm. The gap 905 isopen to air through several sacrificial layer etch holes (not shown).The grating 906 can be illuminated through the quartz substrate 902using, for example, a HeNe laser (λ=632 nm) at a 5° angle away fromnormal to the substrate. The output optical signal can be obtained byrecording the intensity of the 1st diffraction order beam 912 b.

For measuring the AFM dynamic tip-sample interaction forces, thecantilever 922 can be glued on a piezoelectric AC drive transducer 926that can drive the cantilever 922 at its resonant frequency. Theflexible mechanical structure 904, with a stiffness of approximately76N/m as measured at the center using a calibrated AFM cantilever 922,can be used. The DC bias on the flexible mechanical structure 904 isadjusted to 27V to optimize the optical detection, and the sensitivityis calibrated as 16 mV/nm by contacting the flexible mechanicalstructure 904 with a calibrated AFM cantilever 922 and a calibratedpiezo driver. In this case, the broadband RMS noise level of the systemwas about 3 mV (0.18 nm) without much effort to reduce mechanical,laser, or electrical noise.

A force curve can be produced by moving the piezoelectric stack 927supporting the substrate 902 with a 20 Hz, 850 nm triangular signal andmaking sure that there is tip-flexible mechanical structure contactduring a portion of the signal period. The cantilever 922 can be, forexample, a FESP from Veeco Metrology, Santa Barbara, Calif., withk=2.8N/m.

FIG. 9B shows a force curve 950 where the inset drawings (i)-(v)indicate the shape of the cantilever 922 and flexible mechanicalstructure 904, and the hollow arrow indicates the direction of motion ofthe piezo stack 927 and the quartz substrate 902. Moreover, the insertdrawings (i)-(v) correspond to sections (a)-(e), respectively, of thecurve 950. Before measurement, the flexible mechanical structure 904 isat rest, as seen in insert (i) and section (a). Tip-flexible mechanicalstructure contact happens starting in section (b) at around 3 ms and thetip bends the flexible mechanical structure 904 downwards, as shown ininsert drawings (ii) and (iii). Tip-flexible mechanical structurecontact continues through section (c) until about 26 ms, which is insection (d). The piezoelectric motion is reversed starting at section(c). Section (d) shows that attractive forces due to adhesion pulls theflexible mechanical structure 904 up, as seen in insert (iv), for 2 msand then the flexible mechanical structure 904 moves back to its restposition, as seen in insert (v) after a 180 nN jump at the end of theretract section. Curve 950 in section (e) shows the rest position.

For direct observation of time resolved dynamic interaction forces alongthe force curve, a similar experiment can be performed while thecantilever 922 is driven into oscillation by applying a sinusoidalsignal to the AC drive piezo 926 at 67.3 kHz. The single shot, transientflexible mechanical structure displacement signal 960 obtained during acycle of the Hz drive signal is shown in FIG. 9C. Dynamic interactionforce measurements provide various types of information, as indicated bythe various interaction regimes (A)-(C) during the measurement. The dataof FIG. 9C is shown expanded in FIGS. 9D-F in the initial tapping region(A), intermittent to continuous contact region (B), and continuous tointermittent contact transition region (C), respectively.

Starting from the left, the cantilever tip 907 is first out of contactwith the flexible mechanical structure 904. At around 1 ms it startsintermittent contact (tapping) with the flexible mechanical structure904 as individual taps are detected, as shown in FIG. 9D. As thecantilever 922 gets closer to the flexible mechanical structure 904, thepulses become uni-polar and the distortion is more severe as there aredouble peaked tap signals when the cantilever 922 gets into contact dueto non-linear interaction forces, as shown FIG. 9E. When the tip 907 isin continuous contact, which happens around 4.2 ms, the displacementsignal has the periodicity of the drive signal in addition to distortionthat can be caused by contact non-linearities and higher order vibrationmodes of the cantilever 922 with its tip 907 hinged on the flexiblemechanical structure 904. Similarly, around 15 ms, the cantilever 922starts breaking off the flexible mechanical structure surface andtapping resumes, as shown in FIG. 9F. Between 7 ms and 12 ms the curveis not linear.

Individual tapping signals can be filtered by the dynamic response ofthe flexible mechanical structure 904. In this example, the force sensorwas not optimized and the flexible mechanical structure 904 acted as alightly damped resonator with a resonant frequency at 620 kHz ratherthan having broadband frequency response that is ideal for fastinteraction force measurements. Nevertheless, the transfer function ofthe flexible mechanical structure 904 can be obtained using, forexample, integrated electrostatic actuators, as described herein.

Still further, FIG. 9G shows the measured temporal response of theflexible mechanical structure 904 when a 2V square pulse 100 ns inlength is applied in addition to the 27V DC bias at the actuatorterminals. Comparing the trace waveform in FIG. 9G with averaged datafrom individual tap signals shown in FIG. 9H, it can be seen that thestiff cantilever tap is nearly an impulsive force, which can berecovered by inverse filtering.

Thus, according to various embodiments, minimum displacement detectionlevels down to 10-4 Å/√Hz can be measured and mechanical structures withspring constants in the 0.001 to 10N/m range can be built that canmonitor force levels in the pico-Newton range. These sensitivity levelscan make it useful for a wide range of probe microscopy applicationsincluding quantitative interaction force measurements, fast imaging inliquids and in air, and probe arrays for imaging, lithography, andsingle molecule force spectroscopy.

While FIGS. 8A-9H are examples of sensitivity testing made by applying aforce from a tip to the force sensor, similar sensitivities can beachieved when a tip is mounted to the force sensor and the force sensoris used to characterize a sample.

FIG. 10A depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of anotherexemplary force sensor 1000 in accordance with the present teachings.The sensor 1000 can comprise a substrate 1002, a flexible mechanicalstructure 1004, a gap 1005, a tip 1007, a plurality of separate topelectrodes, such as electrodes 1016 a-c, and a bottom electrode 1030.The force sensor 1000 substrate 1002 can be positioned at an end of acantilever 1022. According to various embodiments, the flexiblemechanical structure 1004 can be fully clamped around its circumferenceas described above and shown in FIG. 10A. Alternatively, the flexiblemechanical structure 1004 can be a clamped-clamped beam with arectangular or H-shape, as shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C, respectively,where the short edges 1040 at the ends are clamped. Still further, theflexible mechanical structure 1004 can be a cantilever structure or asimilar structure that changes shape in a predictable manner in responseto a force applied to the tip 1007, as shown in FIG. 10D.

Each of the plurality of separate top electrodes 1016 a-c can beelectrically isolated and formed in the flexible mechanical structure1004. Moreover, the bottom electrode 1030 can spaced apart from theseparate top electrodes 1016 a-c by the gap 1005. Further, the bottomelectrode can be positioned in the substrate 1002 and can be contactedby electrode terminals 1020 d. Similarly, each of the separate topelectrodes 1016 a-c can be contacted by electrode terminals 1020 a-c. Insome cases, the electrode terminals 1020 a-c and 1020 d can becapacitive sensing terminals that can detect a capacitance change formedbetween the separate top electrodes 1016 a-c and the bottom electrode1030.

In FIG. 10A, a voltage can be applied between the electrode terminals1020 a-c and 1020 d. The voltage can be used to independently controland move any of the separate top electrodes 1016 a-c, so that they canserve as actuators. Further, the separate top electrodes 1016 a-c canalso perform sensing, similar to that of a dual electrode capacitivemicromachined ultrasonic transducer where the vibrations of the sensorflexible mechanical structure are converted to electrical currentsignals through change in capacitance.

For example, the force sensor 1000 can be used for fast imaging wherebias voltages are applied between the electrode terminals 1020 a, 1020 cand the bottom electrode terminal 1020 d and alternating voltages of thesame or reverse phase are applied to the electrode terminals 1020 a and1020 c to vibrate the tip 1007 vertically or laterally to haveintermittent contact with a sample surface. In some cases, the forcesbetween the tip 1007 and a close by surface can be sensed withoutcontact for non-contact imaging. The bias voltages applied to theelectrode terminals 1020 a, 1020 c also control the position of the tip1007 in response to changes in capacitance detected between theelectrode terminals 1020 b and the bottom electrode terminal 1020 d. Anexternal controller (not shown) can read the detected capacitance changeand generate the control signals (bias voltages) applied to theelectrode terminals 1020 a, 1020 c and the bottom electrode terminal1020 d.

FIG. 11A depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of anotherexemplary force sensor unit 1100 in accordance with the presentteachings. The force sensor unit 1100 can comprise a force sensor 1101,a detection surface 1102, a flexible mechanical structure 1104, a gap1105, a tip 1107, a plurality of separate top electrodes, such aselectrodes 1116 a-c, a plurality of gratings, such as first grating 1106a and second grating 1106 b, at least one detector 1108, and acantilever 1122. The first grating 1106 a can have a different gratingspacing than the grating spacing of 1106 b. Furthermore, the firstgrating 1106 a can have a different orientation as compared to thegrating 1106 b. It is to be understood that other force sensorembodiments described herein can also comprise multiple gratings.

The detection surface 1102 can be positioned at a free end of thecantilever 1122. Moreover, the flexible mechanical structure 1104 can befully clamped around its circumference, it can be a clamped-clamped beamwith a rectangular or H shape where the short edges at the ends areclamped, or it can be a cantilever structure or a similar structure thatchanges shape in a predictable manner in response to a force applied tothe tip 1007.

The force sensor 1101 shown in FIG. 11A can be used for lateral force orfriction measurements. For example, force sensor 1101 can be used tosense torsion created on the flexible mechanical structure, shown as1104′. Separate top electrodes 1116 a-c can be positioned on theflexible mechanical structure 1104 to excite the torsional motion orresonances. Similarly, the flexible mechanical structure 1104 can bebent asymmetrically, shown as 1104′, due to torsion created by the tip1107 or due to out of phase actuation from the first grating 1106 a, thesecond grating 1106 b, and the top electrodes 1116 a-c acting aselectrostatic actuators. In particular, a voltage can be applied to theelectrical contacts 1120 a and 1120 b that contact the first grating1106 a and the top electrode 1116 a, respectively. The same voltage canbe applied to the electrical contacts 1120 c and 1120 d that contact thesecond grating 1106 b and the a top electrode 1116 c, respectively.Applying this same voltage can cause the flexible mechanical structure1104 to bend up and down. In contrast, similarly applying a differentialvoltage can cause torsion of the flexible mechanical structure 1104.

A light beam 1110 can be directed through the detection surface 1102 toimpinge on the flexible mechanical structure 1104. The beam 1110reflects off of the flexible mechanical structure 1104, a portion ofwhich can be reflective, and is diffracted differently by the firstgrating 1106 a and the second grating 1106 b. As shown in FIG. 11A, thefirst grating 1106 a can generate a first set of diffraction orders 1112a-d and the second grating 1106 b can generate a second set ofdiffraction orders 1113 a-d. The detectors 1108 can detect the differentdiffraction orders. The detector outputs can be added to obtain up anddown bending displacement detection. Similarly, the outputs can besubtracted to obtain torsional motion and force detection. Thisinformation can be obtained when the spring constant for the secondbending mode (torsion around the mid axis) of the flexible mechanicalstructure 1104, clamped-clamped beam or a cantilever is known. Thus, inaddition to acting as actuators, the first grating 1106 a and secondgrating 1106 b can be used to optically or capacitively decouple thebending motion from the torsional motion. As such, the sensed outputs ofthese detectors yield both bending and torsional motion information. Onecan also use separate beams 1110 to illuminate the plurality ofgratings.

FIG. 11B depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of anotherexemplary force sensor unit 1150 in accordance with the presentteachings. The force sensor unit 1150 can comprise a force sensor 1151,a first detection surface 1152 such as a substrate, a flexiblemechanical structure 1154, a gap 1155, a tip 1157, a top electrode 1166,a grating 1156, grating flexible mechanical structure actuation inputs1170 a and 1170 b, and tip flexible mechanical structure actuationinputs 1172 a and 1172 b. The force sensor 1151 can be affixed to a freeend of a cantilever (not shown). The grating flexible mechanicalstructure actuation input 1170 a can contact a transparent conductor1173, such as indium tin oxide, formed on the first detection surface1152. According to various embodiments, the flexible mechanicalstructure 1154 can be separated from the grating by a distance (d).Moreover, the flexible mechanical structure 1154 can comprise the topelectrode 1166 and the grating 1156 can be spaced away from the firstdetection surface 1152.

The force sensor 1151 shown in FIG. 11B can extend the tip actuationrange without degradation in optical displacement measurementsensitivity. For example, the tip 1157 can be positioned at a relativelylarge distance away from the grating 1156. In this manner, the tip 1157can be moved large distances without shorting or damaging the sensor1150. Moreover, the grating 1156 can be actuated to keep the detectionsensitivity at an optimal level. For example, the gating can be actuateda distance of λ/4, where λ is the wavelength of light 1161, to provideproper sensitivity.

The tip 1157 and flexible mechanical structure 1154 can be spaced awayfrom the grating in various ways. For example, rigid supports 1179 canbe formed on the first detection surface 1152 to support the firstdetection surface 1154. In this manner, the flexible mechanicalstructure 1154 is separated from the grating 1156 at a predetermineddistance. A second detection surface 1184 can be separated from thefirst detection surface 1152 by a gap so as to provide a predeterminedseparation distance. The grating 1156 can be formed on the seconddetection surface 1184.

Operation of the sensor 1150 is similar to that described above. Forexample, light 1161 is directed through the first detection surface1152, which can be transparent. The light 1161 passes through thetransparent conductor 1173 and through the grating 1156 and impinges theflexible mechanical structure 1154. The light is reflected from theflexible mechanical structure 1154 and is diffracted by grating 1156before being detected by detectors 1158.

FIG. 11C depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of anotherexemplary force sensor 1190 in accordance with the present teachings.The force sensor 1190 can comprise a detection surface 1192, apiezoelectric actuator 1193 comprising a thin piezoelectric film 1193 adisposed between a pair of electrodes 1193 b and 1193 c, a flexiblemechanical structure 1194, a gap 1195, a tip 1197, and a grating 1196.The force sensor 1190 can be combined with at least one detector and acantilever to form a force sensor unit.

According to various embodiments, the thin piezoelectric film cancomprise a piezoelectric material such as, for example, ZnO or AlN. Thepiezoelectric film can be deposited and patterned on the flexiblemechanical structure 1194 along with the tip 1197. The piezoelectricactuator 1193 can form, for example, a bimorph structure that can bebent and vibrated by applying DC and AC signals through the electrodes1193 b and 1193 c. According to various embodiments, the grating 1196can be placed off-center so as to provide a large range of tip motionthat can be detected without losing sensitivity.

FIG. 12 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an array 1200 offorce sensors 1201 a-c in accordance with the present teachings. Thearray 1200 can comprise multiple force sensors, such as force sensors1201 a-c, formed on a detection surface 1102. Each of the force sensors1201 a-c can comprise a flexible mechanical structure 1204, a gap 1205,a tip 1207, an electrode, such as electrodes 1216 a-c, and a grating1206. According to various embodiments, the array 1200 of force sensorscan be used for imaging and sensing at the same time so as to enablesimultaneous sensing of a physical, chemical, or biological activity andimaging of the sample 1218 surface. The force sensors 1201 a-c can becombined with at least one detector 1208 and a cantilever (not shown) toform a force sensor unit. Some of the force sensors 1201 a-c can bemodified to include, for example, electrodes, sensitive films, oroptical waveguides, while the others can be used for regular probemicroscopy imaging of topography. Thus, each force sensor can performthe same of different function.

For example, force sensor 1201 a can be used to measure and image theelasticity or adhesion of the surface of sample 1218. Further, thegrating 1206 can be used with electrode 1216 a to provide actuation ofthe flexible mechanical structure 1204 by applying a voltage betweencontacts 1220 a and 1220 b, respectively. The elasticity information canbe measured by applying known dynamic and quasi-static forces to thesurface with the tip 1207 using an external actuator or by applyingvoltage to the terminals 1220 a and 1220 b. At the same time, thediffraction order intensities can be monitored by the optical detectors1208 or a capacitance change can be detected by electrical means todetermine the resulting tip displacement. visco-elasticity or adhesioncan be calculated using computer models well known by those who areskilled in the art of probe microscopy.

Force sensor 1201 b can be used to measure and image the topography ofthe surface of sample 1218 similarly as described herein using beam 1210to generate diffraction orders 1212 a-c that can be detected bydetectors 1208. In the case of force sensor 1201 b, the grating 1206 canbe used with electrode 1216 b to provide actuation of the flexiblemechanical structure 1204 by applying a voltage between contacts 1220 cand 1220 d, respectively.

Still further, the force sensor 1201 c can be used to measure and imagethe surface potential of sample 1218. In the case of force sensor 1201c, the grating 1206 can be used with electrode 1216 c to provideactuation of the flexible mechanical structure 1204 by applying avoltage between contacts 1220 e and 1220 f, respectively. Moreover, thesample 1218 can be biased with respect to the tip 1207 of the forcesensor 1201 c using the electrical terminal 1220 g to assist in surfacepotential measurements. The tip 1207 on the force sensor 1216 c can havea separate electrical terminal 1220 h which is electrically isolatedfrom the other electrodes 1220 f and 1220 e and placed in the dielectricsensor flexible mechanical structure 1204. The surface potential canthen be measured using a electric potential measurement device connectedbetween terminals 1220 g and 1220 h. Furthermore, an external source canbe connected to terminals 1220 g and 1220 h and the current flow in thatelectrical circuit can be measured to determine locally the flow of ionsor electrons available from the sample 1218 or in a solution that theforce sensor 1216 c is immersed.

As described previously, the fore sensors 1216 a and 1216 b can be usedto obtain surface topography and elasticity information. Thisinformation can be used by an external controller to adjust the positionof the tips 1207 of individual force sensors to optimize themeasurements. As such, the array 1200 can be used to measure elasticity,electrochemical potential, optical reflectivity, and fluorescence whilealso imaging the surface.

FIGS. 13A and 13B depict top-down and cross-sectional schematic diagramsof an exemplary force sensor 1300 in accordance with the presentteachings. In FIGS. 13A and 13B, the force sensor 1300 can comprise adetection surface 1302, a grating 1306, a tip 1307, an electrostaticcantilever actuator flexible mechanical structure 1317, and a cantilever1322. As shown in FIG. 13B, the force sensor 1300 can also include anoptical port that can be created, for example, by etching a hole 1332through the detection surface 1302. According to various embodiments,the grating 1306 can be a diffraction grating comprising a plurality ofconductive fingers that can be deformable and that can beelectrostatically actuated independently of the cantilever 1322 in orderto control the relative gap 1305 distance (d) between the grating 1306and the reflecting cantilever 1322. Further, the cantilever 1322 canhave its own electrostatic actuation mechanism 1317. With the cantilever1322 having its own electrostatic actuation mechanism 1317, displacementmeasurements can be optimized on each cantilever 1322 of an array ofindependent force sensor structures. With this capability, the initialpositions from topography, misalignment with the imaged sample, and/orprocess non-uniformities can be measured and corrected.

In operation, as shown, for example, in FIG. 13B, a light 1310 can bedirected at the cantilever 1322 through the hole 1332. The light 1310 isreflected from the cantilever and then diffracted by the grating 1306.Various diffraction orders 1312 a-c can be detected by detectors 1308.

FIG. 14 shows a force sensor structure 1400 used in an AFM system 1401according to various embodiments. The AFM system 1401 can comprise aforce sensor 1403, a detector 1408, such as a photodiode, a light source1411, such as a laser diode, and a computer 1430 comprising a firstprocessor 1440 to generate a control loop for imaging materialproperties and a second processor 1450 to generate a control loop forfast tapping mode imaging. The second processor 1450 can further controlan integrated electrostatic actuator, as described herein.

As shown in FIG. 14, the force sensor 1403 can be fabricated, forexample, on a detection surface 1402 and placed on a holder 1428, whichcan be attached to an external piezoelectric actuator (piezo tube) 1427.The intensity of, for example, the +1st diffraction order of lightdiffracted by a grating 1406 in the force sensor 1403 is detected by thedetector 1408 as the tip 1407 displacement signal. For example, with a 4μm grating period and a 670 nm laser wavelength, the +1st diffractionorder is reflected at a 9.6° angle from the grating normal. Tilting thedetection surface 1402 by 6.2° with respect to the incident beam 1410provides a total of 22° angular deflection. According to variousembodiments with the force sensor 1403, significantly all of the light1410 can be reflected from the grating 1406 and the flexible mechanicalstructure 1404, eliminating optical interference problems due toreflections from the sample 1418. This can provide a clean backgroundfor tip displacement measurements.

The performance of the AFM 1401 having a force sensor, such as thosedescribed herein, can be characterized using an integrated electrostaticactuator. For example, an optical interference curve with a DC biasrange of 24-36 V was traced and the bias was adjusted for optimumsensitivity point at 30 V. The displacement sensitivity at this biaslevel was 204 mV/nm. The RMS noise measured in the full DC-800 kHzbandwidth of the photodetector 1408 was 18 mV RMS. This value, confirmedby spectrum analyzer measurements, corresponds to 1×10-3 Å/√Hz minimumdetectable displacement noise with 1/f corner frequency of 100 Hz. Usingthe laser power available from the 0th and −1st orders and differentialdetection, this value can be lowered well below 5×10-4 Å/√Hz withoutincreasing the laser power or using etalon detection. The dynamicresponse of a typical flexible mechanical structure was also measuredusing electrostatic actuation, indicating a resonance frequency of 720kHz with a quality factor of 4.1, suitable for fast tapping modeimaging.

Two controller schemes interfaced with the AFM system 1401 can be used.The first scheme is used with the first processor 1440 comprising acontroller 1443 and a RMS detector 1445 for material propertymeasurement and imaging using transient interaction force signals. TheZ-input of the piezo tube 1427 is driven to generate a 2 kHz 120 nm peaksinusoidal signal while the controller 1443 keeps constant the RMS valueof the photo-detector signal generated by the force sensor 1403 when ittaps on the sample 1418. The 2 kHz signal frequency is chosen as acompromise between the ability to generate adequate vertical (Zdirection) displacement of the piezo tube and the frequency response ofthe internal RMS detector 1445 for a typical force sensor structure1401. The second controller scheme is used with the second processor1450 for fast tapping mode imaging. In this case, the Z-input of thepiezo tube is disabled and the integrated electrostatic actuator is usedto generate a 10 nm peak-to-peak free air tapping signal in the 500-700kHz range as well as the signals to control the force sensor 1403 tip1407 position keeping the RMS value of the tip vibration at the desiredset point.

FIGS. 15A-15C show the results of a force sensor described herein usedin a dynamic mode in an AFM system, such as that shown in FIG. 14. Theresults shown in FIGS. 15A-15C provide information about the transientinteraction forces with a resolution that exceeds conventional systems.In this example, the detection surface, such as a substrate, can beoscillated, and can be driven by a suitable actuator. Both theattractive and repulsive regions of the force curve are traced as thetip 1407 contacts the sample 1418 during some phases (I-V) of eachcycle. The inserts (i)-(v) in FIG. 15A show the shape of the flexiblemechanical structure 1404 during different phases of a cycle whilesubstrate is oscillated at 2 kHz by the Z-piezo. FIG. 15A also shows themeasured detector output signal during each phase corresponding to eachcycle. The detector 1408 output is proportional to the force acting onthe tip 1407.

In this particular case, during phase I, the tip 1407 is away from thesample 1418 surface where it experiences long range attractive forces.When brought close to the surface, the tip 1407 jumps to contact (0.2 nmchange in tip position, phase II) and remains in contact for about 14%of the cycle. In the middle of the period, the repulsive force appliedto the sample 1418 reaches to a peak value of 163 nN (1.22 nm tipdisplacement, phase III). When the tip 1407 is withdrawn, the tip 1407experiences capillary forces of 133 nN (phase IV) before breaking offfrom the liquid film on the sample 1418 surface (phase V). As shown inFIG. 15B, the controller 1443 of FIG. 14 can be used to stabilize thesignal with a constant RMS, so that the output signal of the forcesensor shows individual and repeatable taps on the sample 1418. Thesignals shown are averaged 100 times on a digitizing oscilloscope, andthe noise level is less than 1 nN with 800 kHz measurement bandwidth.

An application of this mode of operation is the measurement of localvisco-elastic properties. For example, in FIG. 15C individual tapsignals obtained on (100) silicon (E=117 GPa) and photoresist (PR,Shipley 1813) (E=4 GPa) samples using a sensor with having a tip 50 nmradius of curvature were compared. The maximum repulsive force issignificantly larger for the silicon sample even though the tip-samplecontact time is less than that of photoresist (PR) indicating that thesilicon is stiffer than PR. Consequently, the positive slope of the timesignal during the initial contact to silicon sample is significantlylarger than it is when in contact with the PR sample. The silicon samplealso shows higher capillary hysteresis. Both of these results areconsistent with existing models and data. Moreover, the tip 1407 canencounter different long range van der Waals or electrostatic forces onthese two samples.

The results shown in FIGS. 15A-15C demonstrate a unique feature of theforce sensors described herein for dynamic force measurements. Inparticular, the output signal is generated only when there is aninteraction force on the tip. With broad bandwidth and high sensitivity,the force sensors enable direct measurement of transient interactionforces during each individual tap with high resolution and withoutbackground signal. This provides information on properties of the samplesuch as adhesion, capillary forces, as well as visco-elasticity.

The force sensor can be used to image various material properties byrecording at each pixel the salient features of the tap signal. Forexample, the AFM system 1401 shown in FIG. 14 can be used to monitortransient interaction forces. The first controller 1440 of system 1401can be used to maintain a constant RMS value of the output signal whilescanning the tapping tip 1407. FIG. 16A shows the transient tap signalson the PR and silicon regions of a sample that having 360 nm thick, 2 μmwide PR strips with 4 μm periodicity patterned on silicon surface.Significant differences exist between the tap signals in terms of boththe attractive and repulsive forces acting on the tip 1407. For example,the silicon surface exhibits a much larger adhesion force when comparedto the PR surface. Because the first controller 1440 attempts tomaintain a constant RMS value over the sample, it forces the tip 1407 toindent more into the PR region. As such, the tip 1407 experiences alarger repulsive force. The shape of the individual tap signals in theattractive region has a strong dependence on the environment.

To form an image in which sample adhesion dominates the contrastmechanism, a peak detector circuit can be used to record the peakattractive force (PAF) as the pixel value, such as points Asi, APR inFIG. 16A. Simultaneously, the sample topography can be recorded using afixed RMS value set point. FIG. 16B shows the resulting adhesion (PAF)and topography images, 1661 and 1662, respectively, of the sample. Inthe topography image 1662, the stripes 1664 correspond to the 360 nmhigh PR pattern (Shipley 1805) and stripes 1665 correspond to thesilicon surface. In the PAF image 1661, the silicon surface appearsbrighter than PR due to higher adhesion forces. By recording the peakrepulsive force (PRF) as the pixel value, images where samplevisco-elasticity dominates the contrast, such as at points Rsi, RPR inFIG. 16A, can be obtained.

Simultaneously recorded PRF and topography images of the same sampleregion are shown in FIG. 16C at 1671 and 1672, respectively. The PRFimage 1671 shows a reversed contrast when compared to the PAF image,while the topography image is repeatable. The PR strips 1674 appearbrighter in the PRF image as indicated by the individual tap signalsshown in FIG. 16A. Also, many more contamination particles are adheredto the silicon 1665 surface as compared to the PR strips 1664, and theseparticles are seen with high contrast. This is consistent with higheradhesion measured on the silicon in the PAF image 1661.

Although a simple controller based on the RMS value set point isdescribed in this embodiment, it is contemplated that different controlschemes, such as those sampling individual tap signals at desired timeinstants and use those values in the control loop can also be used. Forexample, if the peak value of the repulsive force is kept constant asthe control variable, images where the contact-to-peak force timedetermines the contrast—a direct measure of sample stiffness can beobtained. Several existing models can then be used to convert theseimages to quantitative material properties. Similarly, by detecting theattractive force peaks before and after the contact one can obtainquantitative information on the hysteresis of the adhesion forces.

FIGS. 17A and 17B show the results of fast tapping mode imaging ofsample topography with a single sensor probe using the setup shown inFIG. 14. In this mode, the Z-input of the piezo tube 1427 isdisconnected and used only for x-y scan. The integrated electrostaticactuator is used for both oscillating the tip 1407 at 600 kHz andcontrolling the flexible mechanical structure 1404 bias level in orderto keep the oscillation amplitude constant as the tapping mode imagesare formed.

A standard calibration grating with 20 nm high, 1 μm wide, sharp stepswith 2 μm periodicity was used as the fast imaging sample (NGR-22010from Veeco Metrology). FIG. 17A shows the images of a 4 μm×250 nm area(512×16 pixels) of the grating with line scan rates of 1 Hz, 5 Hz, 20Hz, and 60 Hz. FIG. 17B shows the cross sectional profiles of individualscan lines for each image. The AFM system 1401 had an x-y scancapability that can go up to 60 Hz.

For comparison, FIGS. 17C and 17D, show the tapping mode images and linescans using a conventional AFM system on the same sample used in theexample of FIGS. 17A and 17B. The commercial AFM system used a tappingmode cantilever. The cantilever was made of silicon and had a 300 kHzresonance frequency (TESP-A from Veeco Metrology). In this case, thetapping piezo on the cantilever holder was used as the actuator.

As can be seen in the figures, AFM systems described herein are able toresolve the grating with at least a 20 Hz line scan rate, and in somecases a 60 Hz line scan rate. In contrast, conventional AFM systems arenot able to follow the sharp steps starting at 5 Hz, and fail to producea viable image after 20 Hz line scan rate. The imaging bandwidth of theAFM system 1401 described herein was about 6 kHz. However, controllingthe dynamics of the air flow in and out of etch holes on two sides ofthe flexible mechanical structure, such as those shown at 280 in FIG.2C. With a sealed cavity, the imaging bandwidth of various force sensorsdescribed herein can be increased to more than 60 kHz. Moreover, sincethe force sensor unit is a well damped system even in air, methods otherthan RMS detection can be used to implement faster controllers.

FIG. 18 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor unit 1800 in accordance with the present teachings. FIG. 18shows a light source 1811 and a photodiode 1808 on the surface of anopaque, rigid, detection surface 1802. The detection surface 1802 can bea printed circuit board, a silicon wafer, or any other solid material.Furthermore, the light source 1811 and photodiode 1808 can beconstructed or sourced externally and attached to the detection surfaceor fabricated directly into the material using integrated circuit ormicromachining fabrication techniques.

The light source 1811 can be an optical fiber or the end of amicro-fabricated waveguide with an appropriate reflector to direct thelight to the desired location in the force sensor unit 1800, such as adiffraction grating 1806. The optical diffraction grating structure 1806exists above the light source 1811, and is characterized by alternatingregions of reflective and transparent passages. A gap 1805 forming acavity is formed between the grating 1806 and the detection surface canbe sealed at some desired pressure (including low pressures) with anygas or gas mixture, or can be open to ambient. Further, a flexiblemechanical structure 1804 (also called a reflective surface orreflective diaphragm) exists above the diffraction grating 1806 thatreflects light back towards the detection surface 1802. The diffractiongrating 1806 and the reflective surface 1804 together form a phasesensitive diffraction grating.

When illuminated with the light source 1811 as shown, diffracted lightreflects back towards the detection surface 1802 in the form ofdiffracted orders 1812 a and 1812 b with intensity depending on therelative position between the reflective surface 1804 and thediffraction grating 1806, or the gap 1805 thickness. The diffractedorders 1812 a and 1812 b emerge on both the right and left side and aretraditionally numbered as shown in FIG. 18. For the phase sensitivediffraction grating with 50% fill factor, i.e. reflective andtransparent passages with the same width, only the zero order and allodd orders emerge. The intensity of any one or any subset of theseorders can be measured with photo-diodes 1808 to obtain informationabout the relative distance between the diffraction grating 1806 and thereflective surface 1804. The angles of the orders are determined by thediffraction grating period, Λg, and the wavelength of the incidentlight, λ. For example, in the far field the angle of the order n, θn,will be given by the relation [1]:

$\begin{matrix}{{\sin \left( \theta_{n} \right)} = {n\frac{\lambda}{\Lambda_{g}}}} & \lbrack 1\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In order to illustrate how the intensity of the reflected orders dependson the gap thickness, the normalized intensity of the zero and firstorders are plotted versus the gap in FIG. 19 assuming normal incidence.The remaining odd orders (i.e. 3rd, 5th, etc.) are in phase with the 1stbut have decreasing peak intensities. This behavior can be obtained whenthe light source 1811 remains coherent over the distance between thereflector and the diffraction grating 1806.

Furthermore, the diffracted orders can be steered to desired locationsusing structures such as Fresnel lenses. For this purpose, the gratings1806 can be curved or each grating finger can be divided into sectionsof sub-wavelength sized gratings.

Also using wavelength division multiplexing, light with differentwavelengths can be combined and used to illuminate a multiplicity offorce sensors with different grating periods. The reflected diffractionorders from different force sensors can either be converted toelectrical signals by separate photodetectors, or the reflected light atdifferent wavelengths can be combined in an optical waveguide or opticalfiber to minimize the number of optical connections to a processor thatsubsequently decodes the information carried at different wavelengths.Therefore, a multiplicity of force sensors can be interrogated using asingle physical link or a reduced number of physical links to aprocessing system.

According to various embodiments, such as chemical and biologicalsensors, the reflective surface 1804 can be made of single material or amulti layered material that changes its optical properties, such asreflectivity, in response to a chemical or biological agent. Similarly,the reflective surface 1804 can be a micromachined cantilever or abridge structure made of single or layered material that deforms due tothermal, chemical, magnetic, or other physical stimulus. For example, aninfrared (IR) sensor can be constructed by having a bimorph structureincluding an IR absorbing outer layer and a reflective layer facing thelight source 1811. In other embodiments, such as a microphone or apressure sensor, the reflector 1804 can be in the shape of a diaphragm.

In many applications, moving or controlling the position of thereflective surface 1804 may be desired for self-calibration, sensitivityoptimization, and signal modulation purposes. For example, if thereflective surface 1804 is a diaphragm or flexible mechanical structure,as in the case of a microphone or a capacitive micromachined transducer,vibrating the diaphragm to produce sound in a surrounding fluid may bedesired for transmission and self-calibration. Also, while measuring thedisplacement of the diaphragm, controlling the nominal gap 1805 heightto a position that will result in maximum possible sensitivity for themeasurement may be desired. These positions correspond to points ofmaximum slope on the curves in FIG. 19, where it can be seen graphicallythat a change in gap thickness results in a maximum change in intensityof the diffracted order. These examples can use an added actuationfunction that can be accomplished with electrostatic actuation. In oneexemplary embodiment, the entire diaphragm structure 1804 or just acertain region thereof can be made electrically conductive. This can beaccomplished by using a non-conductive material for the reflectivesurface 1804 such as a stretched polymer flexible mechanical structure,polysilicon, silicon-nitride, or silicon-carbide, and then making thematerial conductive in the desired regions either through doping or bydepositing and patterning a conductive material such as aluminum,silver, or any metal or doping the flexible mechanical structure 1804,such as when the flexible mechanical structure comprises polysilicon.

In another exemplary embodiment, the entire diffraction grating 1806 ora portion of the grating 1806 can be made conductive. The flexiblemechanical structure 1804 and diffraction grating 1806 can together forma capacitor which can hold charge under an applied voltage. The strengthof the attraction pressure generated by the charges can be adjusted bycontrolling the voltage, and precise control of the flexible mechanicalstructure 1804 position is possible.

FIGS. 20A and 20B demonstrate this function. First, increasing voltagelevels were applied to pull the flexible mechanical structure 1804towards the detection surface 1802, which resulted in decreasing gap1805 height (i.e. a movement from right to left on the curve in FIG.19). The change in light intensity of the first diffracted order thatresulted was measured with a photodiode and plotted at the top. Toillustrate why controlling the flexible mechanical structure positionmay be important, a displacement measurement of the flexible mechanicalstructure 1804 was made at different gap 1805 heights as follows. Atdifferent applied voltages, sound was used to vibrate the flexiblemechanical structure 1804 with constant displacement amplitude and theresulting change in light intensity of the first diffracted order wasagain measured with a photodetector. As shown in the bottom of FIG. 20A,voltage levels that move the gap height to a point corresponding to asteep slope of the optical curve are desirable as they produce largermeasurement signals for the same measured input. Although sound pressurewas used to displace the flexible mechanical structure 1804, the devicecan be tailored to measure any physical occurrence, such as a change intemperature or the exposure to a certain chemical, or an applied forceso long as the flexible mechanical structure 1804 was designed todisplace as a result of the occurrence.

This displacement measuring scheme has the sensitivity of a Michelsoninterferometer, which can be used to measure displacements down to1×10-6 Å for 1 Hz bandwidth for 1 mW laser power. Various embodimentsdisclosed herein can provide this interferometric sensitivity in a verysmall volume and can enable integration of light source, referencemirrors and detectors in a mechanically stable monolithic or hybridpackage. This compact implementation further reduces the mechanicalnoise in the system and also enables easy fabrication of arrays. Thehigh sensitivity and low noise achieved by the various embodiments farexceed the performance of other microphones or pressure sensors based oncapacitive detection.

FIG. 21 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor 2100 in accordance with the present teachings. FIG. 21shows a force sensor comprising a detection surface 2102, which allowsthe light source 2111 to be placed at a location behind the substrate2102. The detection surface 2102 also allows the reflected diffractedorders 2112 to pass through, and the light intensity of any of theseorders can measured at a location behind the substrate 2102. The forcesensor 2100 can also comprise a flexible mechanical structure 2104, suchas a diaphragm, and a diffraction grating 2106 that can be made moveableso that its position may be controlled via electrostatic actuation, witha region of the substrate serving as a bottom electrode 2116. Changingthe flexible mechanical structure—grating gap thickness can be used tooptimize the displacement sensitivity of the flexible mechanicalstructure, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 18.

Several material choices exist for the detection surface 2102 that istransparent at the wavelength of the incident light. These includequartz, sapphire, and many different types of glass, and it can besilicon for light in the certain region of the IR spectrum. Furthermore,several manufactures sell these materials as standard 100 mm diameter,500 μm thick wafers, which makes them suitable for all micro-fabricationprocesses including lithographic patterning. As in the force sensor1800, several different material types may be used for the flexiblemechanical structure, and the cavity between the platform and diaphragmmay be evacuated or filled with any type of gas mixture.

The diffraction grating 2106 may be made of any reflective material, aslong as the dimensions are chosen to produce a compliant structure thatmay be moved electrostatically. As explained for force sensor 1800,electrostatic actuation requires a top and bottom electrode. Accordingto various embodiments, the diffraction gating 2106 can serve as the topelectrode and the bottom electrode 2116 can be formed on the substrate2102. Furthermore, the distance between these electrodes can be small(order of a micrometer) to be able to perform the actuation withreasonable voltage levels (<100V). For example, for force sensor 2100this means regions of both the diffraction grating 2106 and thedetection surface 2102 can be made electrically conductive. If a metalor any other opaque material is chosen to form the bottom electrode 2116on the detection surface 2102, the electrode region should exist in aregion that will not interfere with the propagation of light towards thediffraction grating 2106 and the flexible mechanical structure 2104.Alternatively, a material that is both optically transparent andelectrically conductive, such as indium-tin oxide, may be used to formthe bottom electrode 2116 on the platform. Force sensor 2100 enables oneto use the advantages of electrostatic actuation while having a largedegree of freedom in designing the flexible mechanical structure 2104 interms of geometry and materials.

FIG. 22 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings. FIG. 22 shows theimplementation of a resonant-cavity-enhanced (Fabry-Perot cavity)optical force sensor 2200 that can be used to improve displacementsensitivity, which may be defined as the intensity variation of thediffracted beam per unit flexible mechanical structure displacement(i.e., the change of the cavity gap) due to the external excitation. Theforce sensor 2200 can comprise a detection surface 2202, two parallelmirror layers, such as a bottom mirror 2203 and a top mirror 2204, and agrating 2206. According to various embodiments, the bottom mirror 2203can be formed on the detection surface 2202 and can include the grating2206. Further, the top mirror 2204 can also serve as a diaphragm orflexible mechanical structure.

The bottom mirror 2203 and the top mirror 2204 can be separated by thegrating-embedded gap or cavity 2205, as illustrated in FIG. 22. Asmentioned, the flexible mechanical structure 2204 can have a highreflectance and can act as the top mirror, and the bottom mirror 2203can be placed beneath the diffraction grating 2206. The mirror layerscan be built, for example, using a thin metal film, a dielectric stackof alternating quarter-wave (λ/4) thick media, or combination of thesetwo materials.

FIG. 23A shows the calculated intensity of the first order versus thegap 2205 for the case of a metal mirror made of silver, but any othermetal with a high reflectivity and low loss at the desired wavelengthcan be used. It can be noticed that the change in the diffracted orderintensity with cavity gap 2205 in the resonant-cavity-enhanced opticalforce sensor 2200 departs from that shown in FIG. 19, depending onoptical properties of the mirror layers, such as reflectance. As seen inFIG. 23A, the slope of the intensity curve increases with increasingmetal layer thickness, hence the mirror reflectivity. The sensitivity inthe unit of photocurrent per flexible mechanical structure displacement(A/m) is also evaluated when the intensity of the first-order,diffracted from an incident light of 1 mW optical power, is detected bya detector, such as a photo-diode with 0.4 A/W responsivity. Thecalculation result for various metals is presented in FIG. 23B. Forexample, the displacement sensitivity can be improved by 15 dB using a20 nm thick silver layer for the mirror. For different metals withhigher optical loss, the improvement may be less or the sensitivity maydecrease as in case of aluminum.

FIG. 24A shows the experimental data obtained by two structures with andwithout an approximately 15 nm thick silver mirror layer with analuminum diaphragm. FIG. 24A shows data for an embodiment without amirror. Similar to FIG. 20A, increasing the DC bias voltage helps one totrace the intensity curve in FIG. 24A from right to left. Because thereis no Fabry-Perot cavity formed in this embodiment, the intensity curveis smooth.

FIG. 24B shows the same curve for the Fabry-Perot cavity with a silvermirror. In this embodiment, the intensity curve has sharper features andlarge slopes around 16-18V DC bias. This is similar to the changepredicted in FIG. 23A. The sensitivity dependence is also verified bysubjecting the diaphragm to an external sound source at 20 kHz andrecording the first order intensity at different DC bias levels. FIG.24C shows the result of such an experiment and verifies that the opticaldetection signal is much larger for the 16V DC bias as compared to 40V,where the average intensity is the same. For a regular microphonewithout the Fabry-Perot cavity structure, one would expect to obtainlarger signal levels with 40V DC bias.

FIG. 25 shows the calculated intensity of the first order versus the gap2205 for the case of the dielectric mirrors. In this embodiment thedielectric mirrors are made of silver and SiO2/Si3N4 pairs but any otherdielectric material combination resulting in a high reflectivity and lowloss at the desired wavelength can be used. The reflectance of themirror can be controlled by the change in the thickness of the metalfilm and the number of alternating dielectric pairs for a given choiceof mirror materials. In FIG. 25, the number of pairs is increased from 2to 8 and which in turn increases the slope of the intensity curveresulting in a higher sensitivity.

In contrast to the dielectric mirror case, peak intensity amplitude ofthe first order decreases with the metal mirror reflectance due to theoptical loss in the metal film (FIG. 23A), and thus metals of lowabsorption loss provide good results for the metal-mirror applications.In addition, the optimal bias position moves toward to a multiple of λ/2with the reflectance of the metal mirror. However, the optimal biasposition can be easily achieved through electrostatic actuation of theflexible mechanical structure 2204.

The scheme of the resonant-cavity-enhanced optical force sensor can bealso applied to the other microstructures described herein with a simplemodification of fabrication process.

FIG. 26 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings. FIG. 26 shows aforce sensor 2600 comprising a detection surface 2602, a flexiblemechanical structure 2204 (also called a diaphragm), a gap 2605 (alsocalled a cavity), and a grating 2606. The grating 2606 can be reflectiveand can be formed on the flexible mechanical structure 2204, which canbe transparent. Further, the grating can comprise reflective diffractionfingers. According to various embodiments, the detection surface 2602can be reflective. The force sensor 2600 can form a phase-sensitivediffraction grating when illuminated from the topside of the flexiblemechanical structure 2204 as shown in FIG. 26. Similar to the embodimentshown in FIG. 18, the zero and all odd orders of light are reflectedback and have intensities that depend on the gap 2605 between thediffraction grating 2606 and the detection surface 2602. The thicknessof the gap 2605 can also include the thickness of the flexiblemechanical structure 2604, which may be made of any transparentmaterial. Examples of transparent materials include silicon dioxide,silicon nitride, quartz, sapphire, or a stretched polymer membrane suchas parylene. Because the detection surface 2602 is reflective, anymaterial, including semiconductor substrates or plastics, can sufficegiven that they are coated with a reflective layer, such as metal. Toadd electrostatic actuation, as described herein, a region of both thedetection surface 2602 and the flexible mechanical structure 2604 can bemade electrically conductive. For the flexible mechanical structure2604, this can be accomplished by using a material that is bothreflective and electrically conductive for the diffraction grating 2606.For example, any metal would work. In various embodiments, because thelight source 2611 and detectors (not shown) exist on the top side of theflexible mechanical structure 2604, this particular embodiment offersremote sensing capabilities. For example, if measuring the displacementof the flexible mechanical structure 2604 due to a change in pressure isdesired (as would be the case for a pressure sensor or a microphone),the detection surface 2602 can be attached to a surface and the lightsource 2611 and detectors can be stationed in a remote location, notnecessarily close to the diaphragm.

In addition to remote measurements, the force sensor 2600 can beremotely actuated to modulate the output signal. For example, anacoustic signal at a desired frequency can be directed to the flexiblemechanical structure 2604 with the grating 2606 and the output signalcan be measured at the same frequency using a method such as a lock-inamplifier. The magnitude and phase of the output signal can giveinformation on the location of the flexible mechanical structure 2604 onthe optical intensity curve in shown in FIG. 19, which in turn maydepend on static pressure, and other parameters such as temperature,etc. Similar modulation techniques can be implemented usingelectromagnetic radiation, where an electrostatically biased flexiblemechanical structure with fixed charges on it can be moved by applyingelectromagnetic forces. In this case, the flexible mechanical structurecan be made of some dielectric material with low charge leakage.

FIG. 27 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of another exemplaryforce sensor in accordance with the present teachings. FIG. 27 shows aforce sensor 2700 comprising a detection surface 2702, a transparentsupport comprising electrodes 2703, a flexible mechanical structure 2704(also called a diaphragm), a gap 2705 (also called a cavity), a grating2706, and a detector 2708. The detection surface 2702 in force sensor2700 can be transparent so that the light source and detectors 2708 canbe placed at a location behind the detection surface. However, placingthe light source and detectors 2708 on the surface of the detectionsurface is equally viable and allows the usage of substrates such assilicon wafers or printed circuit boards. According to variousembodiments, the grating 2706 can be moveable. As discussed herein,controlling the gap 2705 between the grating 2705 and the reflectiveflexible mechanical structure 2704 can be used to optimize detectionsensitivity.

Various methods can be used to control the thickness of the gap 2705,such as, for example, controlling the flexible mechanical structure 2704position, the grating 2706 position, or both. Furthermore, the forcesensor 2700 allows placement of the grating 2706 anywhere in the cavity2705 between the light source 2708 and the flexible mechanical structure2704.

According to various embodiments, the use of highly reflectivesemi-transparent layers to enhance displacement sensitivity usingFabry-Perot cavity, as described by, for example the embodiment shown inFIG. 22. For example, a Fabry-Perot cavity can be implemented with anyof the other embodiments mentioned so far, when using semitransparentlayer is placed in close proximity to the diffraction grating

For example, the sensors shown in FIGS. 18 and 21 can place asemi-transparent layer on the top or bottom surface of the grating.Further, the force sensor shown in FIG. 26 can place a semi-transparentlayer on either the top or backside of the flexible mechanicalstructure, which is where the diffraction grating is located in thiscase.

For example, FIG. 28A depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram ofanother exemplary force sensor in accordance with the present teachings.FIG. 28A shows a force sensor 2800 comprising a detection surface 2802,a flexible mechanical structure 2804 (also called a diaphragm), a firstgap 2805A (also called a first cavity), a second gap 2805B (also calleda second cavity), a first grating 2806A (also called a referencegrating), a second grating 2806B (also called a sensing grating), adetector 2808, and a light source 2811. The second grating 2806B can beformed on the flexible mechanical structure 2804, which can betransparent. Moreover, the flexible mechanical structure 2804 can beformed over the first grating 2806A.

In this embodiment, the flexible mechanical structure 2804 is or has areflective diffraction grating, second grating 2806B, rather than amirror-like uniform reflector surface described above. Moreover, thesecond grating 2806B on the flexible mechanical structure 2804 reflectorcan have the same periodicity as the first grating 2806B, but can beoffset and can have diffraction fingers whose widths are smaller thanthe gap between the first grating 2806A. This offset allows some of theincident light to pass through. This structure, as shown in FIG. 28A,allows some of the incident light from light source 2811 to transmitthrough the whole force sensor 2800 and also introduces new diffractionorders in the reflected field. As such, this provides a different kindof phase grating than those described above.

FIG. 28B is provided to assist in understanding the operation of asensor having two gratings. For example, one can consider the phase ofthe light reflected from the first grating 2806A (also called thereference grating) (φ1) and the second grating 2806B on the flexiblemechanical structure 2804 (φ2). When the difference between (φ1 and (φ2is 2k□, k=0, 2, 4, . . . , the apparent period of the grating is Λg(apparent reflectivity of 1, 0, 1, 0 regions assuming perfecttransmission through the transparent diaphragm 2804) and the evendiffraction orders are reflected with angles

$\begin{matrix}{{{\sin \left( \theta_{n} \right)} = {n\frac{\lambda}{\Lambda_{g}}}},{n = 0},{\pm 2},{{\pm 4}\mspace{14mu} \ldots}} & \lbrack 2\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In contrast, when the difference between (φ1 and (φ2 is m□, m=1, 3, 5, .. . , the apparent period of the grating is 2Λg (apparent reflectivityof 1, 0, −1, 0, 1 regions assuming perfect transmission through theflexible mechanical structure 2804) and the odd diffraction orders arereflected with angles

$\begin{matrix}{{{\sin \left( \theta_{n} \right)} = {n\frac{\lambda}{2\Lambda_{g}}}},{n = 1},{\pm 3},{{\pm 5}\mspace{14mu} \ldots}} & \lbrack 3\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Here it is assumed that the width of the reflective fingers on thereference grating 2806S and the second grating 2806B on the flexiblemechanical structure 2804 are the same. This does not have to be thecase if the interfering beams go through different paths and experiencelosses due to reflection at various interfaces and also incidence anglevariations. The diffraction grating geometry can then be adjusted toequalize the reflected order intensities for optimized interference.

In this double grating structure, shown, for example in FIG. 28A, theintensity of the odd and even numbered orders change with 180° out ofphase with each other when the gap 2805B between the reference grating2805A and sensing grating 2806B changes. The even numbered diffractionorders are in phase with the zero order reflection considered in theprevious embodiments.

One advantage of having other off-axis even diffraction orders in phasewith the specular reflection is that it enables one to easily usedifferential techniques. This is achieved by taking the difference ofthe outputs of two detectors positioned to detect odd and even orders,respectively. Hence the common part of the laser intensity noise whichis common on both orders can be eliminated.

The sensors described herein can be used with various AFM systems andmethods to measure, for example, the attractive and repulsive forcesexperienced by the tip to provide information on various surface forcesand sample properties. Moreover, the force sensors described herein canbe used with several AFM methods, including nanoindentation, forcemodulation, ultrasonic AFM, pulsed force mode, and dynamic forcespectroscopy that have been developed to characterize the visco-elasticproperties of the material under investigation.

Thus, a force sensor for probe microscope for imaging is provided thatcan offer the unique capability for measuring interaction forces at highspeeds with high resolution. In addition to optical interferometer,various integrated readout techniques including capacitive,piezoelectric or piezo-resistive can be used. Similarly, the actuatorsdescribed herein can include a thin film piezoelectric actuator, amagnetic actuator, or a thermal actuator. Further, force sensors withmultiple tips, where several sensing and actuation functions areimplemented in the same device are also envisioned. Still further,electrical measurements, chemical measurements, information storage andnanoscale manipulations can be performed all while simultaneouslyobtaining topography images of the sample in gas or liquid media. Assuch, the sensors and the methods of imaging described herein open a newarea in the field of probe microscopy. This new device can enable highspeed imaging and provide images of elastic properties and surfaceconditions of the sample under investigation.

In one experimental embodiment, the micro-fabrication of themembrane-based probe arrays involves a four-mask process. Standard ICmaterials (silicon nitride, silicon oxide, titanium and gold) are usedfor the mechanical structures whereas a special polymer film (Unity-400)is used as a sacrificial layer in order to increase the gap between themembrane and the substrate without inducing excessive stress on themembranes. The fabrication process starts with a 500-550 μm-thick quartzwafer on top of which 80 nm thick gold diffraction gratings with periodsof 3.3, 4.0 and 6.0 μm are formed using e-beam evaporation and astandard lift-off process with the first mask. A 20 nm thick titaniumlayer is used as an adhesion layer between the gold layer and thesubstrate.

After the definition of diffraction gratings, the Unity-400 sacrificialpolymer is spun at 500 rpm with a ramping speed of 250 rpm for 5 secondsfollowed by another spinning at 400 rpm with a ramping speed of 100 rpmfor 60 seconds. After the softbake on a hot plate at 105° C. for 8minutes, a flat polymer layer with thickness of 3.2 μm is obtained.Unity-400 is a photo-definable sacrificial polymer, where the exposedarea remains (cross-linked). Thus, mask #2 is used to pattern the filmat the wavelength of 405 nm with an energy density of 60 mJcm⁻².Post-exposure baking takes place in an oven at 125° C. for 15-20 minutesfollowed by developing the film in the Avatrel developer. Isopropanol isused to rinse the wafer during the development process. The polymer isthen cured inside the Lindbergh furnace at 160° C. for 1 hour. Aftercuring, the polymer is thinned down to the thickness of ˜1.9 μm by usingO₂ plasma in an RIE chamber.

To define the probe membrane, first a 0.1 μm thick PECVD dielectriclayer is deposited on top of the sacrificial layer at 300° C. Thedielectric film consists of Si₃N₄/SiO₂ with a ratio of 0.84:1 tominimize the intrinsic stress built-up in the layer. Then an 80 nm thickgold layer is sputtered to define the top electrode. To promote theadhesion, a 5 nm thick titanium layer is used between the gold layer andthe dielectric layer to prevent electrical shorting in case the membranecollapses. Mask #3 is used to pattern the Ti/Au layer properly. Aftermetallization, another dielectric layer consisting of four sequencinglayers of Si₃N₄, SiO₂, Si₃N₄ and SiO₂ with a total thickness of 1.5 μmis deposited. The ratio of Si₃N₄ to SiO₂ is maintained at 0.84:1 asbefore. The membrane is patterned using RIE etching with mask #4 to formetch holes necessary for the etching of the sacrificial layer.

It is possible to decompose the Unity-400 film by heating up the waferto a temperature of 440° C. with a furnace that can supply a continuousflow of N2 gas at 5-10 sccm. Since the membrane is a multi-layeredstructure, buckling can occur during the decomposition step. Thus, thefurnace is heated up very slowly to minimize buckling. Once thesacrificial layer is fully decomposed, the wafer is then diced intochips and the etch holes are sealed by using epoxy for sealing. Circularprobe membranes with various diameters (50-600 μm) are fabricated.

The polymer sacrificial layer provides a gap of about 2 μm. The reflowof the soft polymer layer provides planarization and prevents thetranslation of the diffraction grating pattern to the membrane as seenfrom the surface profile. The surface roughness is due to both thedefinition of the Unity 400 film and the deposition of the dielectricmembrane.

For the mechanical characterization, the stiffness of each membrane wasmeasured experimentally using Tribolndenter (Hysitron Inc.), whichshowed that the stiffness of the fabricated membranes was dominated byresidual tensile stress of 30 MPa. Accordingly, the stiffness values ofthe 100-600 μm membranes are from 600 to 1500 N⁻¹. Therefore, thesemembranes are suitable for actuation purposes, where the membrane can beconsidered rigid as compared to the AFM cantilevers (k˜0.01-0.05 Nm⁻¹)used in the single-molecule mechanics experiments.

The above process is specific for silicon nitride and oxide membranefabrication. Similar structures can be fabricated using differentdielectric membrane materials to achieve desired stiffness values. Forexample, for higher force resolution, polymer membranes were alsofabricated. These membranes are a combination of parylene and metallayers providing lower spring constant values. As a comparison, wemeasured the spring constant of a 200 μm diameter membrane as 20 Nm⁻¹and it is feasible to achieve even softer polymer membranes with aspring constant of 1 N m⁻¹.

To use these active probes in single-molecule mechanics experiments,both the electrostatic actuation and optical interferometric detectioncapabilities should be well characterized. The electrostatic actuatorshould provide a suitable actuation range with a reasonable speedwhereas the optical interferometer should be capable of resolving assmall displacements as possible while providing enough dynamic range.

As shown in FIG. 33, an experimental set-up 3300 was used tocharacterize the probes. A low noise laser module supplied 5 mW laserlight at 635 nm. The incident beam passed through a neutral densityfilter used to adjust laser power incident on the membranes. The beamwas then deflected by an adjustable reflective mirror (M1) and focusedon the membrane grating with a focusing lens (L1). The beam spot on thediffraction grating plane was approximately 30 μm. The light intensitiesin the 0th, +1^(st) and −1^(st) diffraction orders (I₀, I₁, and I⁻¹)were captured and collimated by a lens (L2) before they were directedonto a photodiode (PD) array (Hamamatsu, S4114-46Q) after reflectionfrom a second mirror (M2). The photocurrent (I_(pd)) from the PD arraywas converted into a readout signal (V_(pd)) by transimpedanceamplifiers (TIA) with a gain of 5 kV A⁻¹. The readout signal was fedinto an oscilloscope (Tektronix, TDS2004), from which DC and modulatedDC signals were monitored, and a dynamic signal analyzer (StanfordResearch Systems, SR780, Sunnyvale, Calif.) was used for noisecharacterization.

For experimental characterization of the actuation performance, a 500 μmdiameter transducer membrane with a diffraction grating period of 3.3 μmwas used. The membrane was actuated by applying a voltage differencebetween the electrodes (top electrode and diffraction grating) whilemonitoring the intensity of light in the diffraction orders by the PDarray. The intensity of the zeroth and first orders changed periodicallyas the gap height changed due to the applied voltage, as expected.

The same experiment was repeated under a white light interferometer tomeasure the membrane displacement as a function of applied bias voltage.Membrane displacement is proportional to the square of voltage and theexperiment showed that, for a bias voltage of 50 V, the membrane wasdisplaced by about 200 nm. Combining these data sets, the opticalinterference curve (V_(pd)) was mapped to the membrane displacement. Theinterference curve showed a nearly sinusoidal dependence to membranedisplacement with a period of 210 nm.

The main noise sources in the overall optical detection system thatdetermine minimum detectable displacement (MDD) can be listed as theshot noise in the photodetector, relative intensity noise (RIN) of thelaser source, electronic noise of TIA and the thermo-mechanical noise ofthe membrane. MDD basically equals the displacement that is measuredwith a unity signal-to-noise ratio. For this experiment, the membranewas biased to its maximum sensitivity point and the noise was read fromthe PD outputs using a dynamic signal analyzer (Stanford ResearchSystems model # SR785). The differential readout scheme, subtracting thefirst-order signal from the zeroth-order signal by equating the DClevels, helped suppress the RIN. The displacement noise spectral densityfloor for the current system was below 10 fm Hz^(−1/2) for frequenciesas low as 3 Hz with the differential readout scheme. The noisesuppression at the low frequency end (3-1000 Hz) is important since mostbimolecular interaction measurements have significant signal componentscase can be due to several reasons including the membrane in this range.Overall, more than 20 dB noise suppression is curvature, the angularspectrum of the incident light beam achieved with differentialdetection.

For dynamic characterization, the transducer was excited with a smallamplitude AC voltage (VAC) on top of the DC. Sensitivity is defined asthe change it is expected to be low even in liquid media because of itsin V_(pd) divided by the change in membrane displacement.

A 200 μm diameter membrane with sealed etch holes was used for dynamiccharacterization. The resonant frequency of the membrane in air was 420kHz, which dropped to 200 kHz when the membrane was operated in buffersolution. The flat response of the membrane in liquid up to resonantfrequency exceeded the requirements of molecular force spectroscopy asthe rupture events usually occur in a few tens of milliseconds.

The main noise sources in the overall optical detection system thatdetermine minimum detectable displacement (MDD) can be listed as theshot noise in the photodetector, relative intensity noise (RIN) of thelaser source, electronic noise of TIA and the thermo mechanical noise ofthe membrane. MDD essentially equals the displacement that is measuredwith a unity signal-to-noise ratio. For this experiment, the membranewas biased to its maximum sensitivity point and the noise was read fromthe PD outputs using a dynamic signal analyzer (Stanford ResearchSystems model # SR785). The differential readout scheme, subtracting thefirst-order signal from the zeroth-order signal by equating the DClevels, helped suppress the RIN. The displacement noise spectral densityfloor for the current system was below 10 fm Hz^(−1/2) for frequenciesas low as 3 Hz with the differential readout scheme. The noisesuppression at the low frequency end (3-1000 Hz) is important since mostbiomolecular interaction measurements have significant signal componentsin this range. Overall, more than 20 dB noise suppression was achievedwith differential detection. The shot noise in the photodetector forthis intensity level was estimated to be about 2.3 fmHz^(−1/2), and thatthe theoretical limit was approached for frequencies above 1000 Hz.These measurements show nearly an order of magnitude improvement,especially at low frequencies, as compared to the previouslydemonstrated interferometric methods.

The estimated thermo mechanical displacement noise of this membrane inair was well below the shot noise and it is expected to be low even inliquid media because of its large spring constant (1000 N m⁻¹). Whilethe current MDD levels are suitable for actuator feedback, parylenemembranes with spring constants of 1-10 N m⁻¹ can be used to implementsensors for force spectroscopy experiments.

As shown in FIG. 29A, one embodiment of an apparatus for measuring aproperty (which can include any property that can be sensed) of a sample2902 that includes a substrate 2920 and an actuation device 2900disposed on the substrate 2920. The actuation device 2900 includes aflexible surface 2910 spaced apart from the substrate 2920 andconfigured so as to allow placement of the sample 2902 thereupon. Theactuation device 2900 also includes a vertical actuator that isconfigured to cause the flexible surface to achieve a predetermineddisplacement from the substrate when a corresponding potential isapplied thereto

The vertical actuator, which in this embodiment is an electrostaticactuator, includes a first conductor 2912 that is coupled to theflexible surface 2910 and a second conductor 2922 that is coupled to thesubstrate. A potential is applied between the first conductor 2912 andthe second conductor 2922 to control the displacement of the flexiblesurface 2910 relative to the substrate 2920.

A sensing probe 2934, which can be mounted on a cantilever 2930 or otherprobing structure (such as a FIRAT-type structure) is placed to interactwith the sample 2902 thereby sensing the property of the sample. Amolecule 2932 of a predetermined type may be attached to the probe 2934to interact with the sample 2902. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 29A,the second electrode 2922 is also a diffraction grating that interactswith a light beam 2924 that reflects off of the bottom surface of theflexible surface 2910. The reflected beam provides feedback regardingthe displacement of the flexible surface 2910.

In an embodiment shown in FIG. 29B, a secondary partially-reflectivereflector 1948 is integrated with the second electrode 2922 so that aFabry-Perot cavity is formed between the first electrode 2912 and thesecond electrode 2922. A light beam 2950 can then provide displacementinformation through interferometry.

As shown in FIG. 29C, a capacitance sensor can be placed between aconductor 2952 disposed on the substrate 2920 and a conductor 2954coupled to the flexible member 2910 to sense displacement as a functionof capacitance.

In another embodiment, the vertical actuator is a piezoelectric actuatorthat that includes a piezoelectric member that is configured to achievea desired displacement as a function of a potential being applied acrossthe piezoelectric member.

As shown in FIG. 30, a feedback mechanism 3000 that monitors adisplacement of the flexible surface 2910. The feedback mechanism 3000can include a source 3010 that directs a beam of electromagneticradiation toward the flexible surface 2910. A first reflective surface3011 is disposed on the flexible surface 2910 and reflects a portion ofthe beam so as to form a reflected beam so that the reflected beam has aproperty that is indicative of the displacement of the flexible surface2910. A sensor, which may be integrated with the source 3010 senses theproperty of the reflected beam. A controller 3016 receives displacementfeedback from the sensor 3010 and from a force sensing detector 3012,which provides information about the position of the probe 2934. Thecontroller 3016 controls a driver 3014 that applies a potential to thevertical actuator, thereby controlling displacement of the flexiblesurface 2910.

As shown in FIGS. 31A-31C, a plurality of actuation devices 3112 may bearranged on a substrate 3110 in an array 3100. The array 3100 may bedriven by an x-axis actuator 3120 and a y-axis actuator 3122 (which maybe part of a translation table). The lateral actuators 3120 and 3122move the substrate relative to the sensing probe so that each of theplurality of actuation devices 3112, which move the sample along thez-axis, is accessible to the sensing probe. Each of the actuationdevices 3112 may be independently addressable by the control circuit, sothat displacement of each flexible surface of each of the actuationdevices 3112 is independently controllable.

One embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 32A-32C, encloses a probe microscopestructure which includes a drift measurement and control system. Theembodiment uses precise measurement of the distance between the samplesurface and the rigid base of the force sensor, and feeding thisinformation in real-time to the controller of a large scale actuator tokeep the sample-force sensor distance at the desired value duringmeasurement. In addition to reducing long term drift in the forcemeasurements, this method may reduce the low frequency, vibrationinduced noise in scanning probe measurements and imaging. In summary,the scanning probe system has an independent substrate to substratedistance measurement and control system in addition to the force sensingprobe. In contrast drift reducing methods which rely on sensorsconnected to the piezo actuator to close the control loop for the piezoactuator extension, the direct measurement of the sample-to-probedistance is used. The method is applicable to both contact andnon-contact measurements and should be especially useful when imaging atlow speeds.

In many experiments involving force measurements between two moleculeswhich may be immobilized on a sharp tip, force sensing artificial orcell membrane, a functionalized beads, keeping the distance between theinteracting objects during a portion of the measurement is critical. Oneexample of that can be given as the distance dependent on ratemeasurement of molecular interactions between selectin and ligands. Inthis measurement, an AFM cantilever tip carrying one of the molecules isfirst brought into contact with the rigid surface coated with the othermolecule using a piezo actuator. Then, the tip is retracted to a certaindistance by the piezo actuator (e.g., 20 nm) and this distance is keptconstant for a time which can be in the order of milliseconds tominutes. During this time, the force on the cantilever tip is monitoredto record random bond formation events. This measurement can be repeatedat different distances to vary the effective cross sectional area ofmolecular interactions.

Similarly, in some experimental embodiments, when a bond is formed, themolecule is extended to a certain distance and the time for bond ruptureis measured. A problem arises when the piezo actuator drifts during themeasurement due to thermal, mechanical changes in the system. Thischanges the distance between interacting samples, which needs to be keptconstant to better than 1 nm during measurements. Some measurements relyon either open loop control of the piezo material, where a calibratedvoltage is applied to the piezo to move a certain distance. Others, suchas closed loop controlled systems, use a strain gage or a capacitivesensor integrated to the piezo actuator system to measure extension orcontraction of the actuator. That information is then fed back to thecontroller to keep the extension of the piezo at a desired value, butthe distance between the sample surface and a rigid surface of the forcesensor is not measured.

One study used a similar idea where the tunneling current was measuredand an interferometer was used to suppress the drift and low frequencynoise using both sensors on a cantilever. This study demonstrated thatby having two independent distance sensors one can eliminate the commonnoise and have a better topography image.

One embodiment combines a force sensor, a FIRAT probe, with aninterferometric distance sensor on a rigid substrate, which can betransparent or can have an opening for optical access. Also, a movablegrating can be used to optimize the distance sensor sensitivity using aFIRAT like optical readout. This could be useful for any SPM applicationof FIRAT that employs imaging with slow scan rates.

FIG. 32A shows one embodiment of a sensing system 3220 employing a FIRATprobe with independent distance measurement taking a molecular forcespectroscopy case as an example. In this case, a rigid substrate withflat surface has the sharp tip with molecules and a reflective portion.The cavity between substrates may be filled with a suitable buffersolution. The rigid and transparent substrate has the FIRAT probe forforce measurements and also a partially reflecting surface for opticalinterferometric measurements of the distance accurately. The distanceinformation is fed back to the piezo actuator through a controller tokeep the distance constant during the measurement. The FIRAT probe orthe sharp tip can be scanned to form images while the feedback loopmaintains the distance. Also, arrays of tips and individually actuatedFIRAT membranes can be used to perform parallel measurements with lowdrift and noise.

FIG. 32B shows an embodiment of a sensing system 3210 where a movablegrating formed on the same FIRAT substrate using the same fabricationprocess is used for distance measurement with optimized sensitivity.Thus, there are essentially two FIRAT based sensors, one of which isused as a microscale interferometer with tunable grating.

FIG. 32C shows an embodiment of a sensing system 3220 with the FIRATprobe based SPM imaging while the distance measurement to the sample isagain performed by another grating based interferometer. One canfabricate and use arrays of these probes and interferometers to do fastimaging, alignment correction etc.

The sensing system of this present invention can be used in such mediumsas air, other gasses, fluids and even a vacuum. Essentially, any mediumin which the sample can withstand the environment may be employed withvarious embodiments of the present invention.

While the invention has been illustrated with respect to one or moreimplementations, alterations and/or modifications can be made to theillustrated examples without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended claims. In addition, while a particular feature of theinvention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of severalimplementations, such feature may be combined with one or more otherfeatures of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageousfor any given or particular function. Furthermore, to the extent thatthe terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variantsthereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, suchterms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term“comprising.”

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims. The abovedescribed embodiments, while including the preferred embodiment and thebest mode of the invention known to the inventor at the time of filing,are given as illustrative examples only. It will be readily appreciatedthat many deviations may be made from the specific embodiments disclosedin this specification without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be determinedby the claims below rather than being limited to the specificallydescribed embodiments above.

1. An apparatus for measuring a property of a sample, comprising: a. asubstrate; b. an actuation device, disposed on the substrate, thatincludes a flexible surface spaced apart from the substrate andconfigured so as to allow placement of the sample thereupon, theactuation device also including a vertical actuator that is configuredto cause the flexible surface to achieve a predetermined displacementfrom the substrate when a corresponding potential is applied thereto;and c. a sensing probe disposed so as to be configured to interact withthe sample thereby sensing the property of the sample.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the vertical actuator comprises an electrostaticactuator that includes a first conductor coupled to the flexible surfaceand a second conductor coupled to the substrate, the potential beingapplied between the first conductor and the second conductor.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the vertical actuator comprises apiezoelectric actuator that includes a piezoelectric member that isconfigured to achieve a desired displacement as a function of apotential being applied across the piezoelectric member.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the vertical actuator comprises a magneticactuator.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a feedbackmechanism that monitors a displacement of the flexible surface.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 5, wherein the feedback mechanism comprises: a. asource that directs a beam of electromagnetic radiation toward theflexible surface; b. a first reflective surface disposed on the flexiblesurface that reflects a portion of the beam so as to form a reflectedbeam so that the reflected beam has a property that is indicative of thedisplacement of the flexible surface; and c. a sensor that senses theproperty of the reflected beam.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, furthercomprising a diffraction grating that interacts with the reflected beamso as to generate a diffraction pattern that corresponds to thedisplacement of the flexible surface.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6,further comprising a partially reflective surface disposed adjacent tothe substrate and spaced apart from the first reflective surface so asto form a Fabry-Perot cavity therebetween, wherein the property sensedby the sensor comprises reflected beam intensity.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein the feedback mechanism comprises: a. a first conductordisposed adjacent to the flexible surface; b. a second conductor spacedapart from the first conductor and adjacent to the substrate; and c. acapacitance sensor that senses a capacitance between the first conductorand the second conductor, the capacitance corresponding to thedisplacement of the flexible surface from the substrate.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a transparentmaterial.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing probecomprises a probe tip affixed to a distal end of a cantilever beam. 12.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing probe comprises a probetip affixed to a FIRAT-type probe.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a molecule, affixed to the sensing probe, that interacts withthe sample.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the actuation deviceis one of a plurality of actuation devices disposed on the substrate andfurther comprising at least one lateral actuator that moves thesubstrate relative to the sensing probe so that each of the plurality ofactuation devices is accessible to the sensing probe.
 15. The apparatusof claim 14, wherein the actuation device moves the sample along az-axis and wherein the lateral actuator includes: a. an x-axis actuationmember that moves the substrate along an x-axis that is transverse tothe z-axis; and b. a y-axis actuation member that moves the substratealong a y-axis that is transverse to both the z-axis and the x-axis. 16.A sensing structure for sensing a property of a sample, comprising: a. aforce sensor; b. a force sensing detector that detects a state of theforce sensor; c. an actuation device having a flexible surface, spacedapart from a substrate, upon which the sample may be placed; d. anactuation device driver that controls a displacement of the flexiblesurface from the substrate by applying a potential to the actuationdevice; e. an actuation device displacement sensor that detects thedisplacement of the flexible surface from the substrate; and f. acontrol circuit that is responsive to the force sensing detector and theactuation device displacement sensor and that directs controlinformation to the actuation device driver so as to cause thedisplacement of the flexible surface to be a predetermined displacement.17. A parallel force spectroscopy apparatus, comprising: a. an array ofsensing probes that are each capable of sensing a property of a sample;b. an array of actuation devices, each including a flexible surface thatis spaced apart from a substrate, disposed so that each of the actuationdevices is configured to interact with exactly one of the sensingprobes; and c. a control circuit for applying a potential to each of theactuation devices so as to control displacement of the flexible surfacefrom the substrate.
 18. The parallel force spectroscopy apparatus ofclaim 17, wherein each of the actuation devices is independentlyaddressable by the control circuit, so that displacement of eachflexible surface of each of the actuation devices is independentlycontrollable.
 19. The parallel force spectroscopy apparatus of claim 17,wherein the sample is disposed on the flexible surface of each of theactuation devices.
 20. The parallel force spectroscopy apparatus ofclaim 17, further comprising a feedback mechanism that monitors adisplacement of each of the flexible surfaces.
 21. The parallel forcespectroscopy apparatus of claim 20, wherein the feedback mechanismcomprises: a. a source that directs a beam of electromagnetic radiationtoward the flexible surface; b. a first reflective surface disposed onthe flexible surface that reflects a portion of the beam so as to form areflected beam so that the reflected beam has a property that isindicative of the displacement of the flexible surface; and c. a sensorthat senses the property of the reflected beam.
 22. The apparatus ofclaim 21, further comprising a diffraction grating that interacts withthe reflected beam so as to generate a diffraction pattern thatcorresponds to the displacement of the flexible surface.
 23. Theapparatus of claim 21, further comprising a partially reflective surfacedisposed adjacent to the substrate and spaced apart from the firstreflective surface so as to form a Fabry-Perot cavity therebetween,wherein the property sensed by the sensor comprises reflected beamintensity.
 24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the feedback mechanismcomprises: a. a first conductor disposed adjacent to the flexiblesurface; b. a second conductor spaced apart from the first conductor andadjacent to the substrate; and c. a capacitance sensor that senses acapacitance between the first conductor and the second conductor, thecapacitance corresponding to the displacement of the flexible surfacefrom the substrate.
 25. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the substratecomprises a transparent material.
 26. The apparatus of claim 17, whereineach of the array of sensing probes comprises a probe tip affixed to adistal end of a cantilever beam.
 27. The apparatus of claim 17, whereinthe actuation devices actuate along a z-axis and further comprising alateral actuator that includes: a. an x-axis actuation member that movesthe substrate along an x-axis that is transverse to the z-axis; and b. ay-axis actuation member that moves the substrate along a y-axis that istransverse to both the z-axis and the x-axis.
 28. An apparatus forsensing a property of a sample, comprising: a. means for actuating thesample using a flexible surface upon which the sample is placed; b.means for sensing a degree of actuation of the sample; c. means forcontrolling actuation of the sample; and d. means for sensing theproperty of the sample.
 29. A method of detecting a property of asample, comprising the actions of: a. placing the sample on an actuatorthat includes a flexible actuation surface that is spaced apart from asubstrate; b. placing a sensing probe in a position so as to beconfigured to interact with the sample; c. moving the flexible actuationsurface relative to the substrate so that the sample interacts with thesensing probe; and d. sensing interaction between the sensing probe andthe sample so as to detect the property of the sample.
 30. The method ofclaim 29, further comprising the actions of: a. measuring a displacementbetween the flexible actuation surface and the substrate; and b. movingthe flexible actuation surface when necessary to maintain a desireddistance between the flexible actuation surface and the substrate. 31.The method of claim 29, wherein the actuator includes an actuationmember that is configured to set a displacement between the substrateand the flexible actuation surface and wherein the moving actionincludes applying a potential to the actuation member so as to cause theactuation member to achieve a desired physical dimension.
 32. The methodof claim 31, wherein the actuation member includes a first conductorcoupled to the flexible actuation surface and a space apart secondconductor coupled in a fixed relationship to the substrate and whereinthe applying a potential action includes applying the potential betweenthe first conductor and the second conductor.
 33. The method of claim31, wherein the vertical actuator comprises a piezoelectric actuatorthat includes a piezoelectric member that is configured to achieve adesired displacement as a function of a potential being applied acrossthe piezoelectric member.
 34. The method of claim 31, wherein thevertical actuator comprises a magnetic actuator.